Midnight Eyes
by XHelenaMCR
Summary: Helena's mother dies in a tragic car crash in the beginning of the book. She is forced to leave the love of her life, her werewolf boyfriend, Connor. She goes to live with her father on a small island. She soon meets Jethro, a vampire. Connor or Jethro?
1. Chapter 1

**Midnight Eyes**

Chapter 1

"Mom!" I screamed. As our car collided with another, head on. I felt the sudden jolt that wrenched me forward. I hit my head hard on the dashboard. Then it all went quiet, nothing. When I opened my eyes I stared up to see white. I panicked, was I dead? I looked around quickly and realized I wasn't actually dead I was just in hospital. I stopped quite still for a minute, sure enough there it was, the low monotonous beeping of the machine next to me. I settled back into my pillow, I was exhausted, but I didn't know what from. The last thing I remembered was my mom driving me home from my boyfriend's house. She was lecturing me on why I shouldn't have snuck out. And then my memory was blank where I couldn't remember how I'd got here. A nurse entered the room from a door on my left.

"Oh good, you're awake, how are you feeling Hunny?" she asked politely, sitting down on the end of my bed.

"Ok I guess, what happened to me?" I asked, my voice was cracking, because my throat was dry. The nurse looked down apologetically.

"You were involved in a car crash." She looked up again, trying to read my expression. Then she continued, "Your in perfect condition, you were very lucky. But I'm afraid I have some bad news." She looked down at her shoes again. "I'm afraid your mother wasn't as lucky." She looked up, her face very apologetic now.

My heart skipped a beat. The beeping next to me sped up a bit. "Where's my mom? What's happened to her? Is she alright?" I felt faint, where was my mom? She was the last family I had, except my dad, but I didn't class him as family, he'd left when I was just a baby and had not wanted to see me. So as far as I was concerned we should keep it that way. "I'm so sorry." The nurse whispered, almost in tears. I caught on straight away. There was no doubt in her expression, my mother was dead. The last family I had was dead. I felt my consciousness slip away, the last thing I heard was the nurse shouting for help.

"Helena?" A familiar voice whispered. "Helena? Please wake up." The voice was strained, like it was trying to hold back some strong emotion.

"Connor?" I whispered back. "Is that you?" I reached out my hand, I felt something warm wrap around it, Connors hand.

"Yes I'm right here, I won't leave your side ever again." He whispered and kissed my forehead. I slowly opened my eyes.

His glowing amber eyes were fixed on mine. He was a very handsome boy. His long brown hair hung down by his shoulders. His big muscled arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace. The warmth of his body made me break out in a sweat. My big werewolf boyfriend; how I missed being around him.

He let go of me, stood up and picked something up off the back of his chair and laid it on the bed in front of me.

"Get dressed." He said quietly, "I'm taking you home. Your dad is picking you up from my house." He suddenly looked very upset. I froze in place. My dad? I had never even met him, now I had to go live with him? According to my mom he lived on an incredibly small island, not too far from Tasmania. But it was so small that it wasn't even named, it's big enough for a small town and the rest is forest. Filled with wildlife. But something was still bothering me, I was missing something.

I looked at Connor's expression, then it clicked into place. I wouldn't be able to see him anymore. It was almost impossible for him to leave with me. My dad wouldn't allow it, and Connor had to stay to teach his little sister how to control herself, when she became a full werewolf too. He couldn't just leave her to wreak havoc in Washington. Her werewolf instincts would go berserk.

He sat down in the chair, and watched me as I got dressed. He staring eyes didn't bother me, I was used to them. I smiled at him after I was dressed, it was only a half smile because inside I was dying. I was never going to see my love again. He stood up and wrapped his arms around my waist, I automatically wrapped my arms around his neck. He was much taller than me, but that was a lot to do with him being a werewolf, they had to be big and muscly to catch their prey. They were also incredibly agile and fast for their size and weight. I had to look up at him, he kissed me gently and pulled me closer.

"Oh Connor." I sighed when I saw the tears in his eyes. "I promise I'll call you every day. And I'll try to come visit. I love you so much" I leant my head against his chest.

"And I'll come visit as soon as I can." He promised, noticing I was crying too. He kissed my forehead. "Come on, I better get you to my house." We walked out of the room and down towards the exit. His skin was still its lovely tan colour like he'd just been on holiday. And then I looked at my skin, I was quite pale compared to him. Then I looked at his glossy brown hair and compared it to my messy, greasy blonde hair. I desperately needed a shower. How long had I been in hospital? I wondered. I didn't want to know the answer, it would upset me. My mother had always taught me to be strong, she wouldn't want me to break down crying over her death. I had payed my respects to her and I was proud of how strong I was being. Connor and me walked, he had his arm protectively around my waist. He'd smelled something, something bad. I could tell by his face.

"What is it?" I asked "What can you smell?" He looked at me and then all around us warily.

"One of my kind." He said, sniffing the air again. " I think its Francis." His voice strained as he struggled to say the name. I shivered. Francis had come after me, ever since I'd hurt him with silver. He'd charged at me in rage in his wolf form and I'd used my silver necklace to try fend him off and then Connor had come to my rescue. Francis had been trying to kill me ever since.

Connor had obviously felt my shiver. "Look, I've told you, I'd never let anything happen to you." He said, tightening his arm around my waist. He sighed then looked away. " I guess there is a good point for you gong to live on a uncharted island with your dad." He looked back into my eyes.

"Oh, and whats that?" I said sarcastically, I couldn't think of anything good about leaving Connor and all my friends to go live on a little island that wasn't even marked on maps.

"You'll be away from Francis and out of danger." He said, looking around.

"But I'll be leaving you and Chrissie and everyone. I don't want to go, Connor." I whispered.

"It's not my decision. I'm sorry, I promise I'll come visit when Zoey has grow into a mature lycan." He promised as we reached his car. I sighed, knowing that that could range from a month to two years. Two years without Connor, it was a fate worse than death.

The drive to Connor's house was very quiet. When we got inside, I went straight to the living room. I froze in the doorway. Someone was sitting on the couch. The TV wasn't on, it was just silent, and I had a sinking feeling that it was Francis.

"Helena? Is that you?" The sudden unfamiliar voice startled me. I had been so lost in fear that I hadn't realised that the man on the couch had turned to look at me. I took one look and realised.

"Dad?" I said, the word sounded strange to me as I said it.

"Helena." He said with more confidence getting up and giving me a hug. "Hunny, are you ok? It was a terrible accident. You're safe now. Are you ready to go?" he said, almost like he was rushing.

"What about my clothes and stuff?" I asked.

"Already at my house, in Crystal Waters." He replied proudly. I looked at his face, his short brown hair had way too much gel in it, his face was wrinkled with age, and his deep blue eyes glittered with enthusiasm. My hate for him suddenly vanished, it didn't seem like he didn't want me, maybe my mum had been lying when she said that. I didn't want to think about that now.

"Crystal waters?" I repeated, confused.

"It's the name of our island." He explained "The town's called crystal waters too, I hope you like the sea, I live right next door to it. Just be careful, there's a big drop next to my house though." He laughed. "Come on he said, almost pushing me along."

"Bye Connor, I promise I'll E-mail and call you whenever I can" I kissed him gently on the lips and then followed my dad out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The 11-hour flight passed quickly it was exactly 12noon when we arrived. My dad's car was waiting in the car park. As we drove to his house. I noticed that trees surrounded us, everywhere i looked. I saw a small family of rabbits on the side of the road by the trees. And I saw a deer prance so merrily and gracefully through the trees.

After about half an hour of driving, the sea opened out in front of us. We were driving along the top of a cliff. I saw a row houses on either side of my now, only small houses.

My dad pulled up in the driveway of a two-story house. It was a light yellow colour. Not sickly yellow, just a nice pale yellow. It looked a very nice house.

We went inside and my dad gave me a tour. He left my room until last, so I could settle in. I loved my room. It had pale pink wallpaper and baby-blue carpet. My bed was in the far corner, with a wooden frame and a pink quilt and pillow. The door to my closet was painted the same colour as my walls. I had a quaint little computer desk in the opposite corner from my bed, with the latest model of computer on it. There was a little lamp on my bedside table. But the best thing of all about my room, was that it had a sea view. Every morning I would look out of my window and see the beach and sea. I opened my closet and to my surprise my clothes were already hung in there.

I was very pleased with my new room. I took my spare time that I would have spent unpacking and went to E-mail Connor. I kept it simple.

"Hi,

Just saying that I've arrived. It's actually nicer than what I thought it would be, I love my room. And it has a sea-view! Can you believe it? I miss you so much. And I only left you yesterday. I must be insane to think I can survive without you. I got my first day of my new school tomorrow, it's going to be horrible.

I love you so much, mail back as soon as you can.

Love from

Helena

Xxx"

My dad woke up the next day. "Time for school" he said. I got up, got dressed, washed, cleaned my teeth and got my bag ready. I only had time for a quick bowl of cereal. I drove my dad's car to school; he wasn't working today. I needed to get a new car for here. I parked up outside school.

School was a drag. I managed to make some new friends. One called Elizabeth and another called Bethany. I got picked on for what I wore, because I wore very plain clothes and very dark ones at that. I was glad I had made some new friends; at least I wouldn't be alone in school. A boy had caught my eye at school, he was incredibly beautiful; the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. His face looked like it had been carved by angels. I didn't see his eyes he was wearing black sunglasses; that clashed with his deathly pale skin. He wore a black leather jacket and dark jeans. It clashed so much, like oil on snow. He was very slim, but had muscle. He had long wavy black hair. He was the most amazing I'd seen since I'd first seen Connor, but not even Connor added up to this beauty. Handsome was an understatement. Beautiful was an understatement. There was no word to describe this amazing boy. I'd heard him talk in class; even his voice was perfect, almost like music. Perfect, that was a good way to describe him. I sat directly behind him in History, he smelled so sweet. But there was something weird that kept happening, every time I thought of him trying to work out, what his name was, he would always shuffle uncomfortably. It's like he knew I was thinking about him. Or maybe I was just being paranoid, or just too dazed by his beauty to think straight.

A week of school passed by quickly. I hardly got picked on anymore. I was old news now. The beautiful boy was hardly at school. I had one lesson with him in it. He held his nose as he got to his seat in front of me. I became very self-conscious around him after that. Did I really stink? No one else seemed to think so. I'd also had a run in with Courtney. She was one of the most popular girls in school; she had three followers who tagged along behind her, who did everything for her, just trying to claim some of her popularity for themselves. It seemed like every boy in the school was after her. She was seventeen, same age as me. She had tanned skin, like she'd just been on holiday. She had long blonde hair that sparkled in the light; her bright amber eyes gave her a mysterious look. She wore very tight tops and short skirts to school. She had a body to die for. I sighed as she giggled at my plainness as she walked past. Her followers did the same.

It was a dull Friday night. I stared out of the window, thinking of how much I missed Connor. Dad was at his friends' house to watch the football. The house to myself, I thought, I should throw I party. I wanted to throw a party so badly, but for a proper party you needed a lot of friends. I only had two. Well two was better than nothing. I picked up the phone from my bedside table-I'd asked my dad to install it for me-and dialled Bethany's number first. She agreed to come round and bring Elizabeth with her. She was bringing her boyfriend with her and Elizabeth was bringing her two older brothers and her boyfriend. Great, I thought sarcastically as I hung up, a house full of boys.

I heard the doorbell ring. Wow, that was quick I thought. I ran to the door, checking my reflection as I ran past the mirror. I opened the door. I stumbled back a few inches when my eyes met the beautiful amber ones.

"Hi Ellie." Courtney said, a little smug that she'd startled me. Ellie, I grimaced, I could put up with Ella but not Ellie. I tried to smile.

"Um…hi Courtney." I said, trying to sound happy. What was she doing here? Was this another way to torment me? I didn't that right now. "Come in." I stepped aside to let her past. I smelled her sweet perfume as she walked past; she sat down on the living room couch and waited for me to sit down. As soon as I was she began.

"I'm sorry about school the other day," she began, "I shouldn't have laughed at you, you seem a really nice girl. And I just wanted to welcome you to our town. See as hardly ever visits, or moves here. I thought it would be nice if you had a few friends." She looked nervous for a second and glanced at her shoes. "Which is why I was wondering if you wanted to be my friend? You don't have to, but it'd help your popularity in school, and I really want a normal friend who isn't just a friend because they want to be popular and you don't really seem interested in popularity and you seem very nice so, please, will you be my friend?"

I was stunned into silence, her face looked hopeless, like she expected me to say no. To be honest, I wanted to be her friend; she was different for what I thought she would be. She was actually really friendly.

"Sure, if...if that's what you want. I just never thought you would be asking _me _to be _your _friend." I stuttered.

"Thank you, Ellie!" She said jumping up and hugging me.

The doorbell rang again. Oh no, I thought, I'd completely forgotten about the others coming over. Bethany and Elizabeth hated Courtney. Well I was going to have to tell them the truth sometime. I answered the door, they all rushed in, casually saying hi as they walked into the living room. I sighed as I saw them all freeze when they saw Courtney.

"Hi." She said politely. Bethany and Elizabeth turned to look at me, their faces full of shock and fury.

I walked past them all and sat down next to Courtney. The boys seemed at ease and sat on the floor in front of the TV. Bethany and Elizabeth sat on the couch on the other side of the room. Elizabeth's oldest brother called Alasdair, who was twenty-one now. Turned to look at me. "Where's the remote?" he asked.

I took it off the arm of the chair and threw it to him.

"Thanks." He said, gladly changing the channel to watch the football.

"So Courtney," Elizabeth began, "What brings you here?" there was a touch of bitterness in her voice but Courtney didn't seem to notice.

"Helena and me are friends and I just dropped by to say hi and welcome her to our town." Courtney said sweetly.

"Cool," Elizabeth said coolly, not showing any dislike for Courtney. Elizabeth's other brother Jasper who was eighteen- one year older than me- stood up and came and sat on the floor in front of me. I was a little shocked. He tilted his head back to look at me. "Hi Helena." He grinned, "You look very pretty tonight." Did I? I thought looking down at what I was wearing; it's what I usually wore. Was there a sudden change in fashion? Or was he looking at Courtney and confusing her with me. I looked at him again. He was definitely looking at me.

"Thanks." I muttered, rather embarrassed. "I'll be right back." I got up and walked upstairs. I went into my room and sat on the bed. I let the embarrassment drain a bit. I could hear the conversation downstairs continuing. Elizabeth and Bethany were talking to Courtney. I had a good excuse for Courtney coming round now. I would say that I should try make as many friends as possible. It should work. Strangely my thoughts turned to the beautiful boy from school. What a perfect couple him and Courtney would make. Both so beautiful. A twinge of jealousy hit me. If nearly every boy in the school was after her, that meant he might be after her as well, there was no way I could compete with Courtney's beauty. I fought back my tears and sighed. Well there were consequences with being friends with a goddess I thought. I giggled at myself; I compared Courtney to a goddess.

"Ella?" The sudden voice broke my chain of thoughts. "Are you ok?" I glanced up to the doorway. Jasper was standing there, looking very out of place.

I stared at him for a long moment. "Sorry did I startle you?" he said looking guilty.

"No, sorry, I was miles away." I forced a laugh; it didn't quite sound right to me. He came and sat next to me on the bed and put his arm around me. Now I was feeling a little uncomfortable. There was something telling me this was wrong and there was reason to keep Jasper away, but I just couldn't think of what it was.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you." He apologized. Then a small fiendish smile crept across his lips. "But I do think you look very pretty tonight, good enough to eat." The smile was now a grin. He moved his head closer to mine. The voice in my head was screaming now, _stop no, this is wrong_. As Jasper's lips brushed my cheek I remembered. _Connor_-the voice in my head screamed-_don't do this, think of Connor. _I quickly pulled away from Jasper.

"I'm sorry but I have a boyfriend." I whispered. Almost in tears that I hadn't thought sooner.

"Oh, no it's my fault." He said looking a little disappointed but managing to keep a small smile. "I should've known that a girl as pretty as you would already be taken."

I smiled half-heartedly. I knew I'd hurt Jasper's feelings.

I checked my E-mails after everyone had gone. Connor had E-mailed back. I opened it with a thrill that I knew was a little childish. As if I expected news that he was coming to visit. I read it carefully.

"Hi Helena,

I miss you too. I'm glad you've had a good week at school. But you really didn't need to put all that detail in. it took me about an hour to read, Ha Ha. Anyway, there is something I was meaning to tell you. If you like anyone over there, don't let me get in the way. They always say long-distance relationships never work out. Haha. But seriously, I'm ok with it if you want to date someone over there. We probably won't be seeing each other for a while anyway, and I want you to have a good time so you know, have fun. I'll still love you.

Connor

Xxx"

I was horrified. Had he seen what had happened with Jasper? Was he watching me, was he already over here? No I was being silly now. But that could only mean one thing. He'd found his soulmate. All werewolves did. I sighed knowing that mine and jaspers relationship would never be the same, he would have to be with the girl who was born to be with him. I wasn't upset that much, I was mostly happy that he'd found the right person for him. I wrote back-

"Hi

I guess you've found your soulmate then. Cool, whats her name? Is it someone from school? And sorry about going into details last time. And I wouldn't date anyone over here; I love you too much. I'll have fun without dating. I love you too.

Bye

Love from Helena

Xxx"

After that I signed off and went to bed. I had nightmares about Connor with Courtney. I woke up the next morning in a cold sweat and on the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Who are you going with to the prom?" Courtney asked us eagerly. Elizabeth and Bethany had warmed up to Courtney and had even started hanging around with her and sitting with her at lunch. We all sat around the biggest table in the cafeteria.

"Obviously Andrew." Elizabeth laughed. "I don't think he'd appreciate me going with anyone else." Andrew laughed as well.

"What about you, Beth?" Courtney asked.

"Jake." She said bluntly and then went back to eating her sandwich. She had been very quiet recently. It was starting to worry me.

"What about you, Ellie?" Courtney turned to me. Everyone look at me, Jasper smiled at me as if it was an invitation, I didn't take it.

"No one." I muttered. "I'm not really into proms or dances or anything like that."

They all stared at me in shock for a minute.

"Ellie, Hunny." Courtney said slowly. "_Everyone_ goes to the prom and _everyone_ has a date. Look if you don't get a date for the prom, we'll get one for you. You have until the end of the week." She smiled at me. This was a promise. I had no choice, I'd have to get a date, or risk the consequences of Courtney's choosing.

"Ok, I'll get a stupid date." I grumbled, leaning back in my chair. And folding my arms across my chest in a childish pout.

"Good girl." Courtney said, "You'll never guess who I'm going with." She said, suddenly overcome with excitement. Oh no, I thought. If she was going with the beautiful boy I would never be able to look at her again. It was a petty thought between friends but it's just the way I felt. I felt my ears burn with anxiety.

"Robert Court!" She announced proudly. There was a chorus of gasps and 'oh my god's. I didn't even know who that was.

"Who's that?" I asked in spite of myself. They all stared at me again.

"Just the most popular guy in school!" she exclaimed. "He's right over there." I was nervous to turn my head, but I looked over anyway. I was relieved when I saw a tall boy with short brown hair and wearing a tracksuit. He was surrounded by other boys worshiping him, and he seemed to be enjoying every minute of it.

Next class was history. My favourite lesson. I was sat right behind the beautiful boy. As I walked in the classroom I paused as I saw someone was sat in my seat. I looked around the classroom for somewhere else to sit, but there was only one place left and it was next to the boy, that gorgeous boy. I started to panic; I didn't want to sit next to him. What if I made a fool of myself? I looked to Mr. Clarke, "Ah, Helena." He said, glancing around the classroom. "I'm sorry we've got a student who's been transferred to this class, you don't mind sitting next to Jethro, do you?" He asked, pointing to the seat next to the boy whom I really didn't want to sit next to.

I was lost for words; I just shook my head. I walked down the aisle to my seat. I got right next to the boy, when my folder that I had been carrying slipped out of my hands. I waited for the crashing sound and all my equipment to spill out onto the floor. But that never came. The boy-whom I now knew was called Jethro- had caught me folder. He put it on the desk and patted the seat next to him, inviting me to sit down. My cheeks were hot; I knew I was blushing. I sat down and put my bag underneath the table.

"Hi," Jethro said politely, his voice like music to my ears, "You're the new girl, right?" he asked casually.

After two weeks I wouldn't class myself as new, but I nodded anyway unable to speak. "I'm Jethro," he introduced himself, "and you're Helena, right?"

The way he said my name made it sound beautiful, I nodded again. I was speechless around him. He noticed my reactions; I don't know how I must have looked to him.

"You don't have to be embarrassed around me," He chuckled, "We're friends aren't we?"

I nodded again, thinking of something to say. But I couldn't think, my mind had totally shut down; I just looked at him. We didn't speak again that day. After history Courtney met me outside my classroom, with her three followers-I now knew as Jessica, the short blonde haired girl, Kimberley, a red-head with a dusting of freckles and Jane another blonde. All three were slim and beautiful and had the same amber eyes as Courtney, but none measured up to Courtney, who dazzled everyone around her. I sighed knowing I was the worst looking out of all my friends. Even Elizabeth and Bethany looked better than I did. Elizabeth with her long black silky hair and sparkling green eyes and Bethany with her long brown curly hair and bright brown eyes.

"Hey, Ellie!" Courtney said, hugging me.

"Hi, Courtney." I said as she let go of me. She had that excited sparkle in her eyes, she was planning something, or she had good news.

"Me and the girls are planning a shopping trip and a girls night out tomorrow night seen as it's Saturday, do you want to come?" She looked hopeful, I didn't want to squash her spirits and maybe this was just what I needed.

"Ok." I said; trying to sound excited. She seemed to buy it. "Great, I'll pick you up at four and you better be ready." She laughed.

I woke up in a cold sweat; the dream had been so vivid. I had been running in the jungle, running with no sense of direction, all I knew was I had to get away and fast. But from what? I didn't know; I just had to run. I got up and got dressed into a tight, black crop top and a black mini-skirt and black stiletto heels. An outfit Courtney had bought me, to be honest I felt very self-conscious in it. But Courtney had told me to wear it and I didn't want to hurt her feelings. I walked down the stairs, a little unsteady at first in the new heels but I got the hang of it.

"Morning dad." I said as I walked into the kitchen. He was sat at the table reading the newspaper.

"Morning Hun," He said, then he looked up and I heard him gasp. I looked over quickly; he was looking at my outfit. I turned my head away as I felt myself blush, now I felt very self-conscious.

"_What_ are you wearing?" He didn't sound angry, just a little confused.

"It's an outfit Courtney bought me, we're all going out today." I said, impressed by how casual I sounded even though I was really uncomfortable talking about this with my dad.

"Oh," was all he could manage.

"I won't be back until late dad, so don't wait up." I said, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Um…ok, you girls have fun, but be careful." He said, his mind working again.

"We will." I promised.

At 4:03pm I head a car horn outside. "That's my ride. See ya dad." I said jumping up, kissing him lightly on the cheek and racing for the door in my new stilettos.

"Have a good time." He said, just as I shut the door. I ran over to Courtney's silver car and got in the back next to Kimberly and Jessica. Courtney was driving and Jane was sat in the passenger side.

"Hey, Ellie, glad you could make it." She smiled at me from the front. Her smile widened when she saw what I was wearing. And you're wearing the outfit I got you. Thank you! Now lets hit the town." She said as we sped away. I noticed that we were all wearing the exact same outfits.

It wasn't long before we reached the town, it was like a big city, all the lights and shops and buildings, it just wasn't as big. Courtney parked up outside a shop called 'The dark side'. It looked a very gothic shop and I didn't want to go in. To my relief, Courtney walked straight passed it. We followed her through the town, I was taking in every single shop and street name, just in case I got lost. Ten she led up down a dark alleyway and into an open door. There was a set of stairs right in the centre of this dark room. I could hear music pulsing under my feet and I could see flashing lights coming from down the stairs. An underground nightclub, I thought with a smile, very fun. Courtney led us down the stairs. It opened out into a huge room. There was a dance floor in a middle where many people were already dancing. The was a bar in the far left corner. But when I looked to the right there was a wall, not a concrete wall, but a paper wall, like in Japan and there were five sliding doors, evenly spaces out. Toilets I thought, but I noticed the toilet sign over by the bar area, and these cubicles were too big to be toilets. Just then I saw a couple walking towards it, I watched with interest, the woman opened the door and playfully invited the man in, I saw them kiss as she shut the door. I suddenly realised what they were there for. I'd have to stay away from that side of the room.

We danced for what seemed like hours, boys were taking notice but I remembered that we had Courtney with us and obviously they'd be staring at her. That thought put me off dancing, I walked off the dance floor and over to the bar. The bartender was an old man, probably in his 50's he had a bald patch on his head but wore very modern clothes.

"What can I get you?" I could tell he was trying to be polite, but he had to shout to be heard over the blare of the music.

"Cola please," I wasn't sure I'd said it loud enough, but he seemed to have heard me. He nodded once and began filling up a glass with cola.

"There you go, sweetheart," he said and winked. I went to sit down at a table. I saw that Courtney and the other three were sat on the couches at the back, all of them seemed to have a boy and there were two boys on the edge, trying to get in to talk to them. Courtney saw me sat alone.

"Ellie!" She shouted. "Ellie, come over here!" She waved me to come to them. I hesitantly got up and walked over. She introduced me to the boys and we started talking.

"I think I might go for a walk." I said to Courtney after a while, "I'll meet you outside Angel cakes in about an hour ok?"

"The bakery? Ok, do you want me to come with you?" She asked, looking concerned.

"No I'll be ok," I said, forcing a smile.

"Oh, ok. We're gonna head off into seven minutes of heaven, ok so we'll meet you, outside Angel cakes at eleven thirty." She said. I looked over at the cubicles on the other side of the room, sure enough, the sign above the doors read 'Seven minutes of Heaven.' I left quickly, not wanting to think about what Courtney and the others were going to get up to. I walked out of the door and up the street where the lights dimmed and it was quieter, it would give me time to think. There were no shops around this area, only office buildings, I noticed after I'd been walking for a while that all the walls had graffiti on, most of the windows in the building were smashed or cracked and it was deadly silent now, except for the wind. I suddenly felt so alone, it was stupid of me walk this far, I turned around to head back but all I saw again was the deserted street, I couldn't see the main part of the town. I couldn't see any neon lights. Only the dim flickering streetlights that bathed the pavement with an orange eerie glow. Walked back and turned the corner and looked down it, there was still the same type of deserted street, it looked almost the same as this one, except there was more litter on that one. I began to panic, I was sure I hadn't turned any corners, but I hadn't been concentrating on where I was going. A bitter wind whipped against my exposed flesh, I shivered. Had it been this cold all this time? If so, why was I only just noticing it now. A sudden movement startled me, I suddenly realised I wasn't alone. Across the street there was a man leant against a lamppost, he had dropped his cigarette on the floor and stomped on it to put it out. Then he slowly made his way over to me. I was paralysed by fear. As he stepped into the light I saw him properly, he was in his mid-thirties he had short greasy brown hair and he wore tattered clothes. His dark brown eyes looked menacing. I noticed his hand shuffle uncomfortably in his pocket, then I saw it. The handle of a dagger protruding from his pocket, I'm glad I couldn't see the blade, I may have fainted.

"You look lost, Babe." He said with a menacing smile on his face, "Heavens back up there." He looked up at the sky and chuckled at his own joke. I couldn't move, I was terrified, all my muscles had locked up. A voice in my head was screaming _Run! Run now! He's going to kill you!_ I knew that very well, but my body wasn't responding.

He closed the gap between us, he was standing, his lips now a few millimetres from my forehead, I stared blankly into his chest. He was taller than me, and looked a lot stronger than me. This was it, I was just going to accept death as it came.

His arms wrapped around my waist, it sent a shockwave through my body. I realised he had other intentions before he killed me.

"You know," he breathed, "You look so sexy in that outfit. But you'd look even sexier out of it."

I began to shake, _No! No! No! No! No! This is all wrong!_ The voice in my head screamed, _you don't want to lose it this way! Fight Back! Do something! _Before I had time to react he'd lifted me into the air, my legs wrapped around either side of his waist and he'd pinned me against the wall, holding me up with one hand. He hitched up my skirt and started kissing my neck. I pushed at his shoulders with all my might, he staggered back wards. He clearly hadn't been expecting it. I pulled my skirt down again. He came back at me, pinning me against the wall, his hands round my throat this time and my feet on the floor.

"Fine." He said angrily, "We'll have it your way." He kept hold of my throat with one hand and took the dagger out of his pocket with the other. He traced a line with the tip of his dagger across the base of my throat, he was toying with me now. In one split second this would all be over. I thought of Connor, he was happy with his soulmate now, it wouldn't matter to him if I died. Courtney and the others were having fun in the nightclub and wouldn't bother about me. Adrian my dad, he would be able to cope with my death, he'd coped with my mothers and my brothers.

My thoughts were distracted as there was a sound of an engine. My attacker looked scared, he stared down the street at where the noise was coming from. A black Porsche skidded round the corner and sped straight at us, my attacker dropped me and ran. I was breathless, my lungs felt like they were going to explode, I had been to lost in deep thought that I hadn't realised I couldn't breathe properly. The black Porsche skidded to a halt in front of me. I was too scared to look up.

"Ella!" a familiar voice called in distress. "Ella, are you alright?" the person was at my side now, their arm around my waist pulling me to my feet. I looked up and gazed into the beautiful unfamiliar cold, midnight black eyes of Jethro. I had never seen him without his sunglasses on before. His eyes were beautiful but mesmerizing up close. "Are you alright?" he repeated anxiously. I nodded, still in shock.

"I'll take you home." He said, lifting me up with ease and placing me in the car. He was in the driver's side in seconds and we were speeding away. The streetlights blurred as our speed increased. "Jethro" I managed a whimper. "How did you know where I was?"

He didn't answer.

"Please tell me," I whispered. His grip on the steering wheel tightened; there was pain in his eyes as he stared blankly at the road in front of him.

"I can't." He said tonelessly.

"Why?"

"It's…" he paused for a minute, thinking of the right word, "personal," He finally said. Pain was now visible on his face.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, lightly touching his gloved hand; his hand flinched away reflexively. That was it, he officially hated me now, he had tried to be nice, he'd even saved my life and I'd still been a nuisance to him, "I'm sorry," I repeated sadly. I felt the tears burning at the corners of my eyes - threatening to spill over at any second – but I was determined to keep them back. I bowed my head forward and let my hair surround my face so he couldn't see it anymore. I felt so bad, Jethro - one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen – had been so nice to me, and I'd hurt him, the tears spilled over the corners as I thought this. All I'd ever wanted to do is be his friend, I'd wanted to be with him, to defend him against the cruel world, to comfort him when he was upset, to heal him when he was hurt, to love him. Sudden realisation hit me like a ton of bricks. I was in love. In love with Jethro. "No" I whispered to myself. I was quite sure I'd made my voice quiet enough, so that he wouldn't hear but somehow he had heard.

"No, what?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Nothing. It doesn't matter." I whispered back, a little surprised that he'd actually heard me. He instantly took the hint that it was none of his business and shut up.

This was wrong, _Connor_, I thought in despair, _I'm so sorry_. I felt a tear leave my eye and drip onto my leg. Jethro noticed.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, I just don't like been touched that's all, I'm really sorry."

I looked up at him, his face showing the pain again, but this was a different pain, not the pain of talking about his past. The pain that he'd upset me. _How could he be upset about that?_ I thought angrily, _I've hurt him too much; he shouldn't care about this_. But as soon as I looked into his eyes, all my anger drained away.

"No, it's ok Jethro." I said, "I'm just over sensitive." I looked away again, avoiding any more eye contact.

He left the subject then and concentrated on driving. My mind went back to the thought of Connor; I needed to see him soon. I needed him to hold me, I needed his warm, comforting arms around me, and his soothing voice to tell me everything was going to be ok. And as for Jethro, as much as it hurt me, I couldn't be around him anymore. I couldn't stand the thought of hurting him again, of seeing the pain in those midnight black eyes. And I couldn't afford to fall deeper in love with him. I had Connor, my big werewolf boyfriend; the boy I'd loved since he'd saved me from Francis, three years ago. I could just picture Connor now. His incredibly handsome face, his long wavy brown hair, his glowing amber eyes, his slim – yet muscular body – his dark gothic clothes. How I missed him. I glanced over at Jethro. I noticed what he was wearing for the first time since he'd saved me. He was wearing dark blue jeans, black converse and a thin, plain black T-shirt. The t-shirt showed off his muscles. But I realised something. I compared Jethro's and my height; the top of my head was equal with his nose if we stood face to face. But if Connor and me stood face to face, the top of my head would only come up to his chest. Connor was a lot bigger and more muscular than Jethro; Connor could kill Jethro, without having to use werewolf power. Another reason to stay away from Jethro. Connor was a very jealous person, if he found out I was in love with Jethro, there was no telling what he'd do to him.

"We're here." Jethro said, the sudden break in the silence, brought me out of my train of thought. I realised we'd stop moving, I looked out of the window, we were parked right in front of my house. How had he known where I lived? I thought confused.

"Do you want me to walk you to the door?" he asked, obviously still worried about me.

"No, I think I'll be ok." I said politely, but inside I was longing for him to come with him, for him not to leave my side again. But I knew that was never going to happen. I had Connor anyway, and he's all I needed. I got out of the car. "Thank you, See you at school." I said. He just nodded without looking at me, as soon as I shut the door he sped off into the distance.

As soon as I got inside I rang Courtney to tell her I'd come home, I couldn't tell her I'd been with Jethro, otherwise she would've wanted to talk more and all I wanted to do was go upstairs and e-mail Connor. As soon as I hung up, I ran upstairs; my dad was asleep.

I checked my e-mails; I had one from Connor. It said,

"Hi Ella,

You guessed it then, her name's Emily, no she isn't from school, I met her at a theme park. I'm really sorry Ella; I really love you. I couldn't have stopped this; I hope you understand. That's why I said you should find someone you can be with, someone who can be just yours. I wish I could be that person but fate has gone against me again. I hope you still know I love you. Please find someone, for me. I'll ring you as soon as I can. I love you so much.

From

Connor"

I sighed, I wasn't angry with him, I knew that he couldn't help that he'd fallen in love with her. All werewolves were destined to find their soulmate, someone they were going to spend the rest of their life with. Equally, I couldn't have helped falling in love with Jethro. No one can control whom they fall in love with. I wrote back;

"Connor it's ok, I completely understand. But maybe you should just ring me from now on; I don't like this whole e-mail thing. I love you too.

Bye

Helena"

I was almost crying, even though I knew that it wasn't his fault, and neither was it hers, I felt a pang of hate for this _Emily_. She'd unknowingly taken away the greatest thing in my life. I loved Connor so much, and knowing I'd lost him to another girl, it was unbearable. I broke down crying just as I thought of them together, I had no idea what she looked like but I could imagine she was a ugly, slutty girl, who'd be all over him in seconds.

It took me over two hours to stop crying. I had nightmares about them together that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Jethro wasn't at school all that week. I felt guilty; maybe I was the one who caused it. Maybe I'd forced him to move away. No, I reassured myself, he's probably just ill. He had looked very pale and weak that night he'd saved me.

Friday after school, I went to the picnic area close to my dad's house. It was right on the edge of the cliff, overlooking the sea.

The sparkling waters; looked an incredibly pale blue colour. The sky didn't have one cloud in it, the first sunny day since I'd got here. It was weird for where we were, it should always be warm here, not much rain either. But strangely it was cloudy or raining most of the time. But I wasn't going to argue with Mother Nature. I just enjoyed the sun. I was wearing my black bikini top and my black jeans. I knew very well that I didn't tan at all. My skin was always pale, but it could never be as pale as Jethro's. His skin was so pale; he looked completely drained of blood, almost dead. I laid down on my stomach and stared out over the open waters. It looked so beautiful. I smiled and relaxed as I daydreamed.

"Mind if I join you?" The voice caught me off-guard. I rolled over quickly. There was a boy stood a few feet away from me. I gasped, he was equally as beautiful as Jethro, I didn't think that was possible until now. This boy had sandy coloured blonde hair and deathly pale skin. He was wearing black sunglasses, and a hoody, with the hood up and a baseball cap under the hood, he had leather gloves on. I noticed that not one part of his skin was exposed to the sun.

"Sure." I said. He walked over and sat down next to me.

The grass around us swayed in the light breeze.

"I'm Aiden." I introduced himself, holding out a gloved hand for me to shake.

"I'm Helena." I took his hand to shake it, but instead he curled his fingers around mine and pressed the back of my hand to his lips. As soon as our skin touched, it felt like a bolt of lightning was sent pulsing through my body. His lips were cold but soft. There was something about his kiss, which was just…irresistible. As his lips left my skin and he let go of my hand, I relaxed around him. We got talking about where we come from and how we ended up here. Apparently, he'd moved from Romania, to New York, to here. His parents had sent him here for school away from the big cities, hoping he would get a better education. I told him everything about my life in Washington. Except, I left out the part about Connor being a werewolf. I told him that there was someone coming after me, but I didn't tell him that that person happened to be a werewolf. I told him about the car crash and my mother and about my first few days in Crystal waters. He listened attentively all the way through, asking the odd question now and again. I don't think I'd ever talked so much in my life and he didn't get bored of my stories. I liked Aiden so much, he was like an instant best friend and he seemed to like me too. I knew there something that wasn't quite right about him, but I didn't care. He reminded me so much of Connor, the way he'd sit and listen to me rant on, without getting bored at all. The way he'd join in conversion and make the occasional joke to lighten the mood if we were on a darker subject. But he also reminded me of Jethro, he was so beautiful, yet so mysterious, he was pale and slim, but the muscles were toned and I could see them bulging slightly under his shirt. Aiden could be the answer to all my problems. He could be my Connor and my Jethro at the same time.

"It's funny." I said, "I haven't seen you at school." I looked at him; I could see my reflection in his sunglasses.

"I'm new here, as I said before." He said, his voice, just as beautiful as he was, "I'm starting school Monday."

He smiled at me; he had a great smile, and teeth like pearls. I smiled back.

"You're the first friend I've made here." He confessed, looking out over the ocean again. "I would be honoured if you'd come round for dinner." He turned back towards me, his expression hopeful.

"Now?" I asked, it was a little sudden to be asking me round; we'd only met two hours ago.

"Yes, if that's ok." He said, smiling.

"I guess so." I said a little doubtful.

He got up and held his hand out, I took it and he helped me to my feet. We walked back down to the road to his car.

It wasn't a long drive, with the island being so small; it only took us five minutes. His house was on the cliff edge as well, but you had to drive through the thick forest to get to it. It was away from any other houses or shops and there was only one road that led to it. The house was small, just big enough for a family of three. The house was white and had two storeys. There was a huge open space which was covered in soft green grass, that went from the cliff edge, right to the trees and right in the middle of this huge clearing was the small white house. Aiden parked his car by the trees and got out. He was holding my door open for me before I'd even had chance to turn back around. I ignored the fact that he'd only just got out of the car a millisecond a go. We walked up to his house together, he unlocked the door and we entered. The front door led straight into the living room, right in front of the door were the stairs. I could see a small archway at the far side of the living room that led to the kitchen. I sat down on the living room sofa, while he went into the kitchen, he came back a short while later, with a plate, he placed it on the coffee table in front of me. On it was a perfectly prepared meal, it looked delicious. He wandered off back into the kitchen and came back with two wine glasses and a bottle. He placed the two glasses on the table and filled them up with a scarlet liquid from the bottle. Red wine, I thought as I watched him pour it. He placed the bottle on the table and picked up his glass and took a sip.

"Romanee-Conti." He said, examining the liquid. "One of the best wines in the world." He smiled.

I smiled, I realised even though we were indoors now, he hadn't removed his sunglasses. But he had taken off his hoody and I could clearly see his muscles underneath his white T-shirt. He had long sandy coloured blonde hair that looked so soft and silky that I had to stop myself reaching out and stroking it.

After I'd eaten the delicious meal he'd prepared for me, Aiden and me sat talking. I was a little tipsy after three glasses of wine. Aiden put his arm around my shoulders and I leant my head of his shoulder. His flesh was freezing, there was no warmth coming off of him at all. I shivered slightly.

"Aren't you cold?" I asked him, looking up at him.

"No, sorry, are you?" He looked down, but I couldn't see his expression for his sunglasses.

"No I'm ok." I lied, snuggling closer to him. His other hand rested gently on my knee.

I glanced at my watch. It was nearly 11:00pm; I'd been here nearly six hours.

"I'd better go home." I sighed. Getting up.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" he asked, getting up too.

"That would be nice, thanks." I smiled at him, he smiled back, and his smile was just as beautiful as he was. But nothing measured up to Jethro, not even this boy who was almost as beautiful. But there was something about Jethro, something that made me feel at home around him.

I gave him directions as we drove and he kissed me on the cheek as a goodbye before I got out. His kiss sent little waves of pleasure through my body. I was every time his skin touched mine. I walked to the door with a smile on my face. I was too tired to listen to my dad's lectures and went straight to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Monday 7th July, I scribbled the date down in my history book. Jethro was back today and sat in his usual seat next to me. I was trying my best to ignore him completely. But his presence had such an impact on me; I had to strain myself to keep my gaze on my history book. Mr. Clarke was ranting on about World war two; no one was paying attention in particular. It was all things we already knew. This lesson was going to kill me, not talking – or even look at Jethro. Just being in the same building as him hurt me. I needed a distraction, I glanced frantically around the room, looking for something to occupy myself with. I made sure to keep my gaze as far away from Jethro as possible. Mr. Clarke wasn't much help; his boring lectures wouldn't occupy me for long.

There was a knock at the door. Everyone's head turned. Perfect, I thought, a great distraction. I might be able to pick up some of the conversation and let that occupy me for a bit. But as the person entered, my smile widened. I heard Jethro gasp beside me. I couldn't help it; I turned to look at him. His beauty still shocked me; I was dazzled for a minute and then managed to focus. There was a mixture of shock and horror upon his face as he stared ahead at Aiden.

"Hi, I'm new here…um…" Aiden said handing Mr. Clarke a piece of paper. Mr. Clarke looked it over once.

"Welcome Aiden. Yes your in the right place…" Mr Clarke looked closely at the piece of paper for a minute, "Yes" he said to himself, nodding as if understanding.

Mr. Clarke looked up from the paper, "Helena," He said now looking at me, "You and Aiden seem to have the same timetable, would you mind showing him round?" he asked.

Aiden smiled at me, I noticed he still had his sunglasses on; today he was wearing a cream sweater with the sleeves rolled up, light blue jeans and converse sneakers. He looked very attractive. Every girl in the room was smiling and there were a few whispers and giggles amongst them. The boys looked envious. But Jethro looked horrified. Jethro spoke finally, "I'll show him around, I've been here longer." His voice was weak.

"No, no." Mr Clarke said, looking back at the piece of paper, "It specifically asks for Helena." Jethro looked at the desk, I couldn't read his expression because his sunglasses were mirrored on one side so I couldn't see his eyes at all.

"I'd be happy to show him around" I said politely. And smiled back at Aiden.

"Ok," Mr Clarke sighed, as if this was going to waste valuable time, "Andrew move next to Jethro. Helena and Aiden go sit together at the back." I took my bag from under the desk and shrugged it onto my shoulder and then grabbed my book off my desk. Aiden was already sat at the back table and Andrew was walking over. I was just about to stand up, when I felt something restrain me.

Jethro hand was grasping firmly around my arm, his face was turned towards me, but I was sure his eyes were on Aiden. What was this all about? Why was he holding me next to him?

"Today, Helena." Mr Clarke said, a little frustrated. Slowly, Jethro loosened his grip on arm until his hand fell away in defeat. What was wrong with him? I thought as I sat down beside Aiden. All the girls were smiling at him and I could tell most of them were whispering about him. Evan Courtney was looking, she waved and smiled, it was a very flirty gesture and I began to get jealous of her straight away. Her and Aiden were going to end up together. Why couldn't she go for Jethro? The person I needed to stay away from, not my new best friend, Aiden. I had a small crush on Aiden, not love, a small attraction to him. I was in love with Connor and also in love with Jethro. Connor was taken now and I couldn't upset Jethro. And he was way out of my league anyway. Aiden would be more suitable, but I'd prefer to just be friends with him for now. I looked away from Courtney, anger building up inside me. My hatred for her beauty began to grow.

"Don't worry," Aiden said, his voice as smooth as silk, "I think you're way more beautiful than any of these girls." I felt a wave of calmness rush over me as his cold hand took hold of mine. I smiled at him.

Aiden and me talked all the way through History, the girls continued to stare. Aiden answered all the questions Mr. Clarke asked about world war two.

"It helps if you were there for it." Aiden whispered to me and chuckled to himself. I didn't understand but laughed anyway.

"I hear there's a prom on Friday night." Aiden said when the bell rang for the end of school. The prom! I'd completely forgotten, I needed to get a date soon; otherwise I was going to suffer Courtney's choosing.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go with me." Aiden said, nervously playing with his bag strap, "You know, so I'm not alone and I really like you, Ella. And if you don't like me in the same way, it's ok we can still be friends, and it's ok if your already going with someone else but…" He was babbling now, he seemed to be faking this nervousness, because he was smiling as he said it.

"Aiden, shush, I'd love to go to the prom with you. And yes I do like you the same way." I smiled, hoping he was joking about this. Aiden smirked, and moved closer. I noticed he was just a bit taller than Jethro, I had to tilt my head back a bit to see his face.

Aiden took my hands in his cold ones and held them there for a second. I could feel the envious gazes of other girls upon me but I couldn't look away from Aiden. I could feel Jethro's presence; maybe that was whom Aiden had been smirking at. No it couldn't be, Jethro wasn't interested in me in that way I reassured myself.

"So, will you be my girlfriend?" Aiden asked, shrugging nervously, and now his smile was nervous.

"Of course." I whispered. Aiden kissed my forehead and then we turned to face the crowd that was staring at us now. I couldn't tell for sure because of the sunglasses, but it looked like Jethro was glaring at Aiden. Aiden had a smug smile on his face. There was a moment of silence as Jethro and Aiden stood opposite each other, then Jethro turned around and disappeared into the mass of students behind him.

Prom night. I rummaged through my closet to find something nice to wear. I managed to find my black frilly, strapless dress. I put it on and zipped it up. I examined my appearance in the mirror. Maybe it was a bit too short; it looked a bit sluttish now I'd put it on. It'd have to do, I only had and hour before Aiden was picking me up. I had a shower, curled my hair, got dressed and did my make up. The doorbell rang.

"Ella, it's for you." My dad's voice drifted up the stairs. My dad hated my new boyfriend; he wouldn't talk to him much and would always be happy to throw him out if it got too late. I ran downstairs in my stilettos, almost tripping on the bottom stair but managing to stop myself on the banister. I swung open the door and there he was. Looking more stunning than ever.

His long sandy coloured hair, his black tux, his deathly pale skin that stood out against his black tux, and - as always – his black sunglasses. How could he see? It was dark outside.

"You look beautiful." He said, taking my hands in his and kissing me gently on the forehead.

"You look amazing, as always." I smiled, squeezing his hand lightly. It was true; he did look amazing.

"Bye dad." I shouted over my shoulder as we made our way to his car.

Half an hour left of the prom then me and Aiden could escape to somewhere quiet to talk. We'd danced a lot; Aiden had gone to get me a drink and returned a short while later with a plastic cup full of an orange liquid. The disco lights flashed around the room, lighting up different sections of the room in different colours. The room pulsed with the music, vibrating the floor on each beat. Couples started making their way to the dance floor, Courtney danced over to us and held out her hand to Aiden,

"May I have the next dance?" she asked, smiling.

"Well...um…i…um…" Aiden glanced at me, as if asking what he should say.

"Go on." I said, trying to smile. Aiden nodded, took her and led her onto the dance floor. I sighed as I saw them dancing together, I felt a hint of jealousy as I watched Courtney wrap her arms around him; he shrugged them off quickly. I turned away and took another sip of my drink. I placed it on the table. I pretended not to be bothered about Courtney and Aiden and started to examine the food that was laid out. Pizza slices, small cakes, break sticks; crisps and dips, chicken wings and all of it looked so tasty but also made me feel sick. I didn't want to risk eating anything.

"May I have this dance?" A beautiful familiar voice asked. It took me by surprise and I had to grasp the table for support. I turned to see Jethro dressed in jeans and a black leather jacket. Not exactly dressed right for a prom. And he still wore his sunglasses. What was the deal with these sunglasses? Why wasn't I allowed to see their eyes? I had only seen Jethro's eyes once, and they had been as black as midnight. Was there some secret behind it? Or were they just too good to show us how beautiful their eyes were? I realised that I'd been stood in silence, his expression looked hopeless.

"Ok." I replied slowly. He took my hand and led me to the dance floor. His movements were so graceful, why hadn't I noticed that before? His movements had always been graceful; I had always just too busy staring at his face to notice it. Now as we danced, I noticed. But there was something else to it, something else to the way he moved. Like a predator stalking it's prey, so balanced, graceful, silent, but deadly. Deadly. The word repeated over and over in my mind. He twirled me, but I lost my footing at the end and fell into his arms. I felt him take a sharp intake of breath and he tensed up. I lifted my head up out of his chest to see that he was looking down at me. The song finished and a slow song started. I felt his body relax and he put his arms around my waist, I automatically responded by putting my arms around his neck. I wasn't as graceful as him, but I tried my best as we danced together. This felt so right, to be here in his arms, I felt at home. One of his hands left my waist and brushed my hair behind my ear. There was a longing deep inside. This is what I wanted, Jethro and me. Together forever. I moved my head closer to his without realising. Our lips only an inch away from touching. All I had to do was move my head forward a bit more and they would be touching. Not even Aiden would kiss me on the lips. He would kiss my hand, my forehead or my cheek, but never my lips. I was just about to close the distance when Jethro spoke.

"I don't think Aiden would be very happy, if you did that." He chuckled, but there was a sad tone to his voice. He wanted it too, I thought in astonishment. How can something so beautiful like him want something so dull like me?

"Ella." I heard Aiden say, there was a touch of anger in his tone. I turned my head slightly to see Aiden and Courtney standing right behind me.

"Get off of her, Jethro." Aiden said angrily. I released my hands from around Jethro's neck. Jethro and I both turned to face them, but Jethro kept one arm around my waist. He didn't want to let go of this moment either.

"I don't think that's fair, Aiden." Jethro replied coolly. His expression was blank of all emotion.

"What's not fair?" Aiden said, his face was now controlled and the anger had faded from his voice.

"You get to go dance with Courtney while Ella stands alone, is that fair?" Jethro smirked slightly when Aiden looked away from him quickly.

"No, you're right, that isn't fair." He said in defeat then turned and strode away. I felt bad for upsetting Aiden and wanted to go after him but that would hurt Jethro; but if I stayed with Jethro that would upset Aiden more. I just couldn't win.

"I'm going out for some air." I told Jethro, I gently pulled myself away from him. "Alone." I added when he started to follow me. He nodded once and walked away onto the crowded dance floor.

The bitter wind stung my face. The night air was cold and the streets were dark. The pavement bathed orange by the dim glow from the streetlights. I walked along the pavement. I was freezing, maybe I should go back? No, I wouldn't upset Jethro or Aiden. I walked to the old cemetery, I loved it there it was peaceful and a nice place to relax.

I sat in the old part of the cemetery where the gravestones were old and worn by acid rain. Alone at last, I used the time to think. What a mess, I thought hugging my knees, I was with Aiden and I really liked him, but I needed Jethro. There was something about him. I always felt at home around him and it was like a strange force was pulling me toward him. My heart longed for him, for his love, for his touch. I sighed and remembered Connor. What would he think of all this? He'd always help me make the right decisions in situations, but would he help me in this one? I doubted it; Connor was a very jealous type of guy and wouldn't like this at all. Aiden or Jethro? I thought. This was so hard. I could tell Aiden loved me but I didn't feel the same way about him and it was wrong to lead him on like this. But if I went after Jethro and he didn't like me in the same way, what was I going to do then. And if I got Jethro and Connor had only thought he'd found his soulmate and came back for me, what then? No this was way too complicated for me. I was just going to go for it, I would have to tell Aiden the truth about my feelings and see if we could still be friends. I would stay friends with Jethro and – as much as it hurt me – hide my feelings from him. From his actions around me lately he didn't like me, even tonight when we had danced he had made sure there was no skin contact and he had kept his distance until I had moved in on him. He hadn't argued but I could tell he hadn't been happy about it.

"Helena!" An enthusiastic voice boomed. It was an unfamiliar and alarming sound. I swung round; a boy only a few years older than me was walking toward me confidently. I didn't recognize him at all.

"H-How do you know my name?" I stuttered in fear.

"I know a lot of things about you." He smiled smugly, closing the gap between us and sitting down next to me. The way he'd moved, so graceful, like a predator stalking it's prey. He was gorgeous; he had long black hair like Jethro and deathly pale skin. He wore a dark blue T-shirt and dark jeans. I saw his eyes; they were a bright liquid silver colour. His eyes dazzled me for a second and I had to tear my eyes away to focus again. He was just like Jethro and Aiden. They obviously had different facial features, but each as beautiful as the other.

"You know," he began, noticing me staring. "You look good enough to eat." He smirked enjoying a little joke to himself. I didn't get it; I just sat there frozen, staring into his eyes.

"I'm Tyrone," He introduced himself, "And I already know you're Helena." He snapped his fingers in front of my face to get my attention; it jolted my mind back to reality. I really was in the mood for his jokes.

"Just leave me alone," I snapped, "I don't know how you know me and I don't care, just go away!" I laid down on my back and stared up at the night sky, pretending to ignore him.

"Don't be like that sweet-heart." He smirked; I was an evil smirk. He leant over me, his face right over mine so I couldn't see the sky.

"Piss off!" I shouted in his face, "Can't you see that I don't want you here?" I slapped him hard, trying to get him to leave, but instantly regretted it. My slap did nothing, his skin was cold and as hard as rock, if anything all I managed to do was hurt my hand. He smiled.

"I'm very hungry you know." His smile turning into an evil grin. I tried to keep my face angry and block out my fear, I wasn't sure if it was working.

"So? What do I care? I don't have any food. Go away!" I snapped again, he suddenly pinned my arms down to the ground on either side of my head. I squirmed to try and break free but he had a grip like a vice and all my efforts were useless. He laughed slightly as his head moved closer to mine. His lips traced a line from the base of my throat up to my ear, then he whispered, "You don't seem to grasp what I'm saying."

"Get off of me!" I screamed, trying – unsuccessfully – to push him away. I heard him laugh quietly then he whispered in my ear again.

"If you keep quiet, I'll tell you a secret." There was humour in his voice. I kept fighting to get him off of my, he seemed to be getting bored waiting for me to reply. "I'll tell you the secret to my looks." He whispered. I stopped fighting him instantly. How had he known I'd wanted to know that? Or maybe it was just a something to shut me up. He chuckled when he realised that it was what I wanted to know. "I'm a vampire." He whispered. Panic started to bubble up inside me. It explained everything. The beauty, the graceful predatory movements, the eyes, the strength, everything. Aiden and Jethro were vampires too. I was paralysed; I couldn't fight back anymore. Tyrone lifted his head again to look down at me. I stared into his eyes, into the eyes of death. My eyes wide with fear, my breath coming up fast now. He laughed.

"But now you know my secret, I'm afraid I'm going to have to kill you." He smirked at me. His eyes glowed then the beautiful liquid silver colour of his irises disappeared to be replaced by a blood red. He opened his mouth and I watched in horror as his two top canine teeth grew and became longer and sharper. He laughed yet again. This was the end; I was going to be killed by a hungry vampire.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I watched helplessly as Tyrone moved his head closer to my throat. A howl rang out in the silence of the night. A Howl, such a familiar sound. Connor, I thought instantly, I knew you wouldn't let me die. Tyrone froze, wide eyed with fear. Both Tyrone and me looked up at the same time. A huge wolf stood on the top of the hill, silhouetted against the full moon. It was like a scene from a horror movie. The huge creature was way too big to be a normal wolf bounded down the hill towards us. It stopped just a few feet away from us. It was a huge black wolf. Oh no. I struggled harder to get out of Tyrone's grip, he didn't even notice I was moving; he was still staring at the huge creature in front of him. His fear turned to anger as I watched, his lips pulled back over his teeth and a low hiss escaped his lips. I saw a flash and the wolf turned back human again. There, only a few feet away from me; stood Francis. The werewolf who was trying to kill me. He must have followed me over here. He stood now, wearing only a pair of baggy jeans. His short Black hair only just reaching his earlobe. His glowing amber eyes alight with enthusiasm. His scar that run over his left eye, his well muscled chest and arms. His deep tanned skin. A handsome boy – a handsome werewolf. He smiled at me.

"Nice to see you again, Helena." He smiled evilly at me. Walking forward.

"Back off, mongrel! This ones mine!" Tyrone shouted at Francis. A low snarling noise escaping through his teeth.

"I had her first." Francis said calmly. "She managed to escape me the first time, it won't happen again. Hand her over, parasite."

"Never." Tyrone snarled and picked me up in his arms. I felt so helpless. Both these creatures were trying to kill me. Werewolf or vampire. No matter who won, I was going to die. Tyrone was standing, holding me close to him and as far away from Francis as possible.

"I'm giving you a chance, hand her over or I kill you both." Francis held out his hand, as his Tyrone could just place me in it and be gone.

Tyrone looked from Francis to me and then back to Francis again. Tyrone started toward Francis, to hand me over.

"Ella!" I heard a familiar voice shout. Oh no, Aiden, no, don't, they'll kill you. Both Francis and Tyrone looked toward the cemetery gate, I followed their gaze. Aiden was walking into the cemetery, looking around desperately trying to find me. Jethro, Courtney and the rest of the prom closely followed him. It was a search party, everyone was looking for me.

"Damn." Francis whispered and ran. Tyrone dropped me and disappeared into the darkness. I felt dizzy. Why had they run? Not that I wasn't glad, but a vampire and a werewolf, scared of two vampires and a group of humans. It just didn't seem right. Jethro spotted me and was by my side in less than a second.

"Ella, are you ok?" he asked, hugging me against his chest. "We were so worried when you didn't come back…" He stopped mid-sentence and sniffed the air. "Aiden." It was no more than a whisper, but Aiden was next to him in less than a second.

"Ella." He said in relief. Falling to his knees next to me and hugging me gently against his cold chest. He'd removed his tie and jacket and was only wearing a thin white shirt and black pants. He sat up swiftly, letting go of me. He sniffed the air and froze.

"Lycan and Rogue." Jethro confirmed, Aiden's eyes widened with fear. I couldn't move I was still paralysed, two vampires sat around me now. I still couldn't believe it. Aiden threw a warning glance at Jethro.

"She already knows." Jethro said in a toneless voice. "But we still have a lot of explaining to do."

Aiden sighed then nodded. Jethro went to pick me up but Aiden glared at him so he let me go and let Aiden carry me.

I lay on the couch in Aiden's living room, a mug of hot chocolate in front of me and a blanket around me. I was still in shock from seeing Francis. I wanted to talk, to tell them I was ok and I didn't need pampering but I couldn't, I couldn't speak from the shock. I couldn't move either. Francis was here. He'd followed me. He was going to kill me.

I could hear Jethro and Aiden arguing in the kitchen, but I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying. I just lay staring at the blank white wall on the other side of the room. Aiden entered the room first and sat down on the couch beside me and put his arm around me. Jethro entered a few seconds later and sat on the couch opposite us.

"How are you feeling?" Aiden asked me, concerned. I couldn't answer, I was willing him to understand I was fine I was just in shock. Jethro sat staring at me.

"She's ok." He said in a toneless voice, still staring at me. "She wishes you to stop asking her. She's just in shock."

My eyes shifted and I stared into the bleakness of his sunglasses. It was like he had read my thoughts. Jethro nodded as I thought that. _You're reading my thoughts? _I tested to see if he responded. He nodded again. I was even more shocked. How could he do that? Maybe it was a vampire power. I looked away from him and looked back at Aiden.

"So I guess we should explain ourselves." Aiden sighed, I managed to nod slowly.

"We're vampires." Jethro said and then left the rest to Aiden.

"Yes, we are vampires. We are the _living-dead_," he laughed slightly. "But you can't tell anyone. Not a living soul, otherwise it's death for us." He paused to think how to continue.

"Why don't you let Ella ask us some questions?" Jethro suggested. Aiden looked down at me.

"Can you speak now?" he asked.

"Yes," I croaked. It hurt to speak for some reason.

"Go on then, ask anything you need to know." Aiden said sadly.

"How did you know where I was? And who had been there?" I asked.

"We followed your scent. And we can always smell our own kind and our enemies. We have better senses than you do, we have a very sensitive sense of smell, good eyesight, and so on" He chuckled.

"How did you know it was a werewolf and what's a rogue?" I asked, shivering as I remembered Francis's evil grin and Tyrone's liquid silver glare. Aiden glanced at Jethro and then back to me.

"Rogues are sort of bad vampires, they go against the rules set by the elders. And well, Lycans – sorry – werewolves; have a very distinct, disgusting smell to us. Just like we smell horrible to them too. And we have never gotten on with their kind, we are at war with them in a sense. But the strange thing is we haven't seen one in many years." Aiden's face changed into confusion. "How did you know it was a werewolf?"

I wasn't going to let on that I was in love with a werewolf and I'd spent all of my childhood with werewolves. But I was going to tell the truth about Francis, editing out Connor.

"His name was Francis, he's been after me since I was twelve." I admitted, "I killed one of his pack and when he tried to kill me I hurt him with my silver necklace and ran and he's been after me ever since."

"And how have you managed to stay alive for this long?" Aiden asked, now very concerned.

"I had help, but I really don't want to talk about this now." I said quickly. Aiden nodded.

"Why are you and the werewolves at war?" I asked.

"They have they ability to kill us by just one bite to the throat, for us to kill them it is much more complicated, we have to use silver. It started when werewolves killed all the children in our clans a thousand years ago or so. So we killed their pups and it started a war between us and now we've hated each other ever since." He explained. The whole time Jethro was still staring at me. I asked a few more questions about vampires and managed to find out that they had heightened senses, could run at incredible speeds, had great strength, had to feed on blood to survive, some had other special powers (like Jethro who could read minds). They were in a sense the living dead. They could disappear into shadows and could do a number of other amazing things. There was just one question I needed to ask.

"Aiden, please can I see your eyes?" I asked, I could sit up now and I sat facing him. Aiden looked at Jethro for support, Jethro just nodded. Slowly Aiden removed his sunglasses. I gasped, his face was so unbelievably beautiful. More beautiful than before. His skin was pale and there were dark purple rings under his eyes, but his eyes were a very vivid light green that shimmered in the light. They looked like two gemstones, like two emeralds. He had thick dark lashes that shadowed his eyes when he looked down. He looked at me, as if waiting for me to cringe away from him, but instead I threw my arms around him and held him tight. I was just overjoyed that I'd actually seen his eyes. They were so light, so beautiful, so mesmerising and so unusual. I loved them. He pushed me back gently. I was confused as to why, but I looked into his eyes again and I saw it. The thirst. The green was draining away and I could see the red starting to seep in to his irises. He was restraining from just killing me right now. I shuffled away. "Sorry." I whispered.

"It's not your fault." He replied, getting up and leaving the room. As soon as Aiden left the room, Jethro was next to me. I hadn't even had chance to blink before he was there.

"I'm sorry about reading your mind before, your thoughts were just so strong I couldn't push them away." He explained.

"It's ok." I assured him, then I looked at him again. His sunglasses still guarding his eyes. I really wanted to see his eyes, to see what he really looked like. His whole face. To see the boy behind the sunglasses. Jethro didn't seem too happy to be sat near me at all, I could see him leaning away from me. Why did he hate me so much? Was it because I wasn't a vampire? Wasn't what he was. I felt tears well up in my eyes, I struggled to hold them back.

"Jethro…" I began shyly. "Please can I see your eyes?" I looked at him pleadingly. He hesitated for a moment, then sighed in defeat. He slowly but gently removed his sunglasses and looked at me. I nearly fainted. His eyes were such a mesmerising blue. They were bluer than the sky itself. They also looked like two gemstones, I'd have to say aquamarine described them perfectly, such a light blue and so beautiful. I couldn't look away. "thank you." I whispered as I continued to stare. Under his eyes there were dark purple circles but they weren't as vivid as Aiden's were. And Jethro's lashes were a lot thicker than Aiden's. I leant towards Jethro without thinking and rested my head on his shoulder. He automatically wrapped his arms around me. I sighed, this felt so right, and I felt at home with him. I relaxed in his arms, not aware of anything else but him. There was suddenly a connection between us, like an electric current flowing from him to me and back again. All I wanted to do was kiss him, to touch his face, to hold his hand. To be with him. I had to fight back the urge. I felt his body tense. I looked at him. His eyes were closed and he was holding his breath.

"This is wrong." He whispered. He felt it too. He let go of my and pushed me back. A millisecond before Aiden entered the room. Aiden hadn't seen anything. Jethro used his special power to see when Aiden was about to walk back into the room. Jethro was back on the other side of the room on the couch. Aiden sat next to me and put his arm around me.

"Feeling better?" I asked shyly. The electricity had died when Jethro moved away from me. Now I just felt empty without him.

"Much better." He smiled, kissing my forehead lightly. I was going to have to tell him soon. Tell him everything before he got hurt. I was considering what to say, when I saw Jethro shake his head. He'd read my mind, read how I felt about him. _This is wrong, Ella_, his voice said in my mind, it startled me for a second. But then he continued, _I'm too dangerous for you_.

_That won't stop me loving you_, I thought before I could stop myself. I wished he couldn't read minds, at least I had privacy about my feeling then. His head dropped into his hands. Aiden's eyes quickly flashed to him, "What's wrong, Jethro?" He asked, suddenly concerned about his friend he'd hardly payed any attention to since entering the room again.

"Nothing." Jethro whispered and then left. He was gone before any of us could have said goodbye.

"I hope he's ok." Aiden said more to himself than me.

"Aiden we need to talk." I said quickly, it would be better to get this over with now. I explained all my feelings for Jethro, I explained about Connor (not the werewolf part obviously) and how he'd found someone else. He kept his face composed but his eyes let him down. They were full of pain. I knew I was hurting him, but it was better than hurting him later when he was more attached to me. He agreed to still be friends and tried to smile but his eyes let him down again, still filled with pain.

"Please don't wear your sunglasses anymore." I begged.

"I won't wear them around you, but I have to wear them in public for obvious reasons." He promised. He hugged me gently then took me home.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A couple of weeks had passed since I had broken up with Aiden. Jessica and Aiden were together now, I knew Aiden was doing it only for show and had no feelings for Jessica at all. Jethro had been avoiding me. He had missed school all of the last week. He even missed the end of year party. I hadn't seen Francis or Tyrone since prom night and things were going quite well. School had officially ended for summer break. I sat in my room that night. Not able to sleep or do anything else. I sat thinking of Jethro, how I wished I could be with him; but how it was impossible. He hated me, he avoided me. At Aiden's house on Prom night electricity had flowed between us, the look on his face that showed he felt it too. He's quickly moved away and when I told him I loved him, he'd put his head in his hands and then left quickly. I hated myself. I didn't care if he was a vampire, I was willing to take a risk. I'd taken a six-year risk by dating a werewolf in Washington and yet here I was today. I knock at my window interrupted my train of thought. Without thinking I stood up and strode over to the window. Jethro was on the other side of the glass, his breathtaking beauty still startled me. I opened the window and he climbed in.

"Ella, we need to talk." He said, walking straight past me and sitting on my bed. It took me a minute to regain control of my legs. I slowly walked over and joined him on the bed.

"Ella…" He began, but seemed to struggle to continue; there was a long awkward silence between us. Then he sighed and stared out of the window.

"Jethro?" I asked hesitantly, scared he was going to turn on me in an instant. I reached out a hand hesitantly to touch his shoulder comfortingly. But he quickly turned and his hand flew up and caught hold of my arm, his eyes were dark, the aquamarine blue that had shimmered in the light last time I saw them was gone. His eyes were as black as midnight again. He stared into my eyes, the anger in his eyes slowly drained, only to be replaced by confusion. The Electric current started up again, his bare flesh touching mine. His hand was ice cold against warm skin of my arm.

"I can't hide my feelings for you any longer." He whispered, looking down as if ashamed of himself. "I tried to keep you away, to keep you safe and hope that you'd forget about me." He sighed again, "but it didn't work, it made you unhappy that I was pushing you away and I couldn't stand to see you upset any longer. Seeing you upset made me unhappy. I know it would be best for me to keep away, but I can't." He struggled to say the last three words. And he looked at me through his thick, dark lashes and judged my reaction. I was stunned. He had feelings for _me_? That incarnation of pure beauty had feeling for _me_?

"Yes, I do have feelings for you." He confirmed. He'd read my mind – again. "I have very strong feelings for you." I felt my breath catch suddenly in my throat as the words sunk in deeper. I tried to exhale but my lungs wouldn't allow me to. He cared about me. I still couldn't believe it.

"Breath, Ella!" Jethro said urgently, taking hold of my shoulders and shaking me. "Breathe!"

I managed to exhale and struggled to breathe normally again. He rubbed my back gently to calm me; his cold touch was soothing. I eventually managed to breathe properly.

He took my hand is his, the electricity between us started up again.

"I love you, Ella." He whispered, "I love you and I never want to leave you again." He caressed his free hand against my cheek.

"I love you too." I whispered back, nearly in tears. I was scared that any minute I would wake up and this would have all been a dream.

"It's not a dream, Ella," he promised, he looked at me. "I'm here and I really do love you."

We stared into each other's eyes for a long moment, the electricity still flowing between us. I was suddenly aware that we were moving closer to each other. Our lips were almost touching when he pulled away. The electricity disappeared.

"Ella, for this to work we're going to have to have a few rules," He sighed and looked down, "I don't know how well I can control myself yet, and you smell pretty damn good, so we are going to have to limit down physical contact."

I nodded, it was a bit of a disappointment, but at least I had Jethro and he loved me. I think I'd be able to cope.

"Are you sleepy?" he asked, glancing at the time. It was almost 1:00am.

"A little." I admitted.

"Do you want me to watch over you tonight?" He asked, smirking slightly. He knew my answer before I could say it.

"Get in the bed then." He said, standing up. I crawled into the bed and pulled the covers over me. He sat on the end of my bed watching me.

"Aren't you tired?" I asked concerned that I was being rude and not offering to let him sleep in my bed or in my sleeping bag. To my surprise he laughed.

"I don't sleep." He smiled.

I felt rather stupid, but I couldn't have known that. I was still having visions of him rising out of a coffin every night.

It was hard to fall asleep knowing that he was staring at me, but I eventually did.

The next morning I awoke early. I quickly glanced around the room. He'd gone. Or maybe it had just been a dream. I started to question my sanity as I got dressed and went downstairs. Dad had already left for work at the garage. I made a simply breakfast of cereal and sat down at the table, still wondering if I'd dreamed the whole thing up. I washed up quickly after I'd finished and went to watch TV. I flicked idly through the channels, nothing really grabbing my interest. My thoughts were elsewhere. A knock at the door sent me spiralling back to reality. I walked slowly to the door and opened it. Two gleaming amber eyes stared back down at me.

"Hi, Ellie!" Courtney almost screamed, hugging my tightly.

"Hey – Court – ney," I gasped, since when had she been so strong? I couldn't breathe. She let go when she realised.

"Sorry," she smiled apologetically and then walked past me and sat on the living room couch. Elizabeth followed her closely. Elizabeth's eyes were the strange mesmerising amber colour of Courtney's. She stalked silently behind Courtney, looking very fragile, like the slightest touch could shatter her.

"New contacts?" I asked. She just looked at me then looked away again. Poor Lizzie, I thought. What has Courtney done to you?

I shut the door quietly and followed them into the living room. As soon as I sat down, Courtney burst into conversation, telling my about her new job at a clothes store called Classy Lass. I didn't really pay much attention, just nodded occasionally to make it look like I was listening. There was another knock at the door, I was annoyed that I was going to have a full house if this kept going but grateful that I could get away from Courtney's continuous babbling.

I got up quickly, and walked - almost ran - to the door. I swung the door open. I gasped, and stepped backwards almost falling over Courtney's coat – which she had dropped on the floor on her entrance.

"Hi Ella." Jethro smiled, kissing my lightly on the forehead. His blue eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. I noticed what he was wearing today. A light blue sweater that clung to his body, showing off his well-muscled chest, a pair of light denim jeans and black converse. It made a change from his gothic clothing. Blue suited him very well, but no colour blue in the world could match the beautiful colour of his eyes. I realised he was waiting and I was staring into his eyes.

"Oh, hi. Come in." I whispered shyly. A little embarrassed. He walked in but took my hand in his; I shut the door and let him lead me to the living room. His skin was cold but soft on mine. Courtney's eyes widened with shock when he entered the room holding hands with me. Elizabeth smiled slightly but hid it from Courtney. Jethro sat on the floor facing Courtney and Elizabeth but he was a reasonable distance away. I sat down next to him. Courtney was still staring, but most of the shock was gone and was replaced by anger. The only boy in the school, who didn't want her, wanted me. I felt myself blush as the thought of Jethro being mine resurfaced. I felt something cold around my waist; I looked down to see that Jethro had put his arm around me. He was smirking slightly and taking little glances towards Courtney. He was rubbing it in.

"So, Ella-" Courtney began, trying her hardest to control her voice. "You never told us you had a boyfriend. How long have you and Jethro been together?" She didn't want to know, she was just trying to act polite around Jethro.

"Oh, we're not-" Jethro cut me off mid-sentence.

"Only about a day." Jethro said calmly. _Let me handle this_, Jethro's voice said in my mind. _Sorry, don't you want me as a boyfriend? _

"Yes!" I blurted out. I'd forgotten that Jethro hadn't really said it out loud. Jethro a smug smile crept across Jethro's face and then quickly disappeared. Courtney and Elizabeth were staring at me.

"Yes what?" Elizabeth asked.

My mind raced, trying to find an excuse. My heartbeat sped up and I could hear it pounding in my ears and I was pretty sure Jethro could hear it too with his ultra-sensitive hearing.

"I just remembered that-" I paused to think of a good excuse. Courtney and Elizabeth were getting impatient. _You're going on holiday next week_, Jethro said in my mind. "I'm going on holiday next week." I repeated. Elizabeth didn't seem convinced but Courtney cheered up to the thought of me going away for a while.

"Oh, cool. Where are you going?" She asked, a little too enthusiastically. I threw a worried glance at Jethro but he kept his eyes on the TV, pretending to watch it. _You're going camping in the mountains_, Jethro's voice said in my mind.

"I'm going camping in the mountains, up north." I added the last bit, to show I was improvising. I saw Jethro smile slightly.

"Aren't there like, bears and lions and stuff up there?" Courtney asked, not seeming to care at all.

"Only a few." Jethro answered before I could react. "But she'll be safe with me."

"I don't want anything to happen to you." I know it was meant for Jethro but she looked at me as she said it. Jethro shook his head as if disapproving something.

"We'll be fine." Was all Jethro said and then turned his full attention to the TV. I was horrified. Lions? Bears? Camping! I hated camping, ever since I was little and a hungry bear had rummaged in our tents – while we were asleep! I had been scared of camping ever since.

Courtney and Elizabeth left a short time later. I turned to Jethro. "Camping!" I shouted. "You want _me_ to go camping!" I was shaking my head, trying to shake away the thought. I realised that I was pacing and stopped quickly. Jethro was up and in front of me in an instant. His cool breath blowing against my face as he looked down at me. His arms were around my waist.

"I thought it would be fun." He smiled an irresistible smile. My panic and anger melted away instantly and I wrapped my arms around his neck. "You and me, alone together for a couple of days." He kissed my forehead lightly again, his lips cold and soft on my warm forehead. Alone together, I repeated in my own mind. Excitement started to bubble up inside me.

"I guess I could give it a try." I whispered. The irresistible smile reappeared and my heart melted and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I love you." He whispered. Freeing one hand from my waist to stroke my hair.

"I love you too." I whispered back, smiling and closing my eyes to enjoy the moment. I felt him relax as he rested his head against my hair. "Isn't this hard for you?" I asked.

"Hmm?" He sighed, still very relaxed.

"To be so close to me?"

"Incredibly hard." He said, but didn't move.

"Then why do you?" I asked, feeling guilty for causing him so much strain.

"Because I love you. And I want to be close to you, no matter what it takes." He lifted his head and smiled down at me and then kissed my forehead lightly again. Every kiss sent shockwaves through my body.

"And why can't I kiss you properly?" I asked, realising that I'd never kissed him and our lips had never met.

"Pace yourself, Ella." He smiled, but I was not amused. "Don't test my self-control yet." He smiled again but his eyes were serious.

"Self control as a boy or as a vampire?" I smirked. He laughed.

"Both." He kissed my forehead again. "I still have to decide which is more tempting." He smirked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, starting to panic, but managing to hide it.

"I don't know which is more tempting, your blood or your body." He stroked my hair again. I laughed with relief.

"Which is winning at the moment?"

"It's equal." He glanced at the clock. "I think I'd better go."

"Will you come back tonight?" I asked, hoping, pleading he would.

"Not tonight, I have a lot of plans to make. I won't be able to come round for the rest of the week. Sorry." There was a touch of pain in his eyes as he said it. This was going to be a long week then, I was really attached to Jethro. I hugged him tightly.

"Look after yourself while I'm away." He kissed my cheek, but his lips lingered there longer than normal.

"Where are you going?" I asked, almost in a whisper.

"Over to Tasmania. We need more supplies." He sighed. His arms loosened and finally let go of me. "Stay safe while I'm gone." Then he was gone. Like he had disappeared into thin air.

I sighed and glanced at the clock too, it was past eleven.

I sat on my bed staring at the ceiling, thinking of Jethro. Imagining us together in the mountains together. Somehow it seemed appealing because of Jethro. If it had been anyone else I wouldn't have gone. But now I was excited about going. I dreamed that night of Jethro.

The next day was slow and uneventful; Adrian was home. He'd said I was too old to call him dad now. I just had to call him Adrian. As I got ready for bed I heard a tap at me window. Jethro I thought swinging around and running to the window. I flung the curtains open and froze. Amber eyes stared at me from the other side of the glass. I opened the window and Connor climbed in.

"I missed you." He whispered, hugging me tightly.

"I missed you too." I whispered as the tears fell from my eyes. I wasn't sure if I was crying because I was happy to see him, or crying because this was probably a dream. His body was warm against mine as I pressed my face against his chest. He picked me up with ease, so my feet dangled and my face was just above his head. I looked down at him.

"How did you get here?" I asked, tears still welling up in my eyes. He was really here. His warm breath; his extremely high temperature, his long curly brown hair, his blazing amber eyes. My big werewolf boy, how I'd missed him.

"I have my ways." He smirked and laid me down on the bed and crawled on top of me. His body was heavy but bearable, his face was just above mine and he stared straight down at me.

His warmth breath on my face.

"No offence Ella, but you stink." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "And it isn't a familiar smell. What have you been doing? Rolling in garbage."

I rolled my eyes, same old Connor. "Maybe you should go if I smell so bad." I said through my teeth.

"Nope. I think I'll stay a bit. I still love you even if you smell." He grinned, his cute toothy grin. His head moved closer to mine, expecting a kiss. Why shouldn't I let him do this? Why was this wrong? The smell. Connor was a werewolf, something smelled horrible to werewolves. Vampires. _Jethro!_ My thoughts screamed, _Jethro is your boyfriend now! Don't hurt him!_ I quickly freed my arms and held Connor back. He looked disappointed.

"What about Emily?" I whispered, not wanting to confess just yet. Connor sighed, got off of me and sat on the edge of the bed. I sat up too.

"I love her, Ella. I love her so much." The pain in his eyes as he said it was nearly unbearable, "But I love you too, more than anything. But I can't choose between you." He dropped his head into his hands.

"Connor-" I hesitated, I was going to have to tell him now. Tell him about Jethro, but not that he was a vampire. Connor would have a fit if he found out that part. "I took your advise and I found someone. Here. In Crystal Waters."

"Oh." He said, "I guess that's good. What's he like?" Connor looked down, he didn't want to hear it really.

"He's cool." I said, to save Connor the pain.

"Well I guess I can still love you." Connor said, "but we'll just be friends." I smiled at him, I was glad he'd taken it all so well.

"So whats this guys name?" Connor asked, raising an eyebrow curiously, "Who's the lucky guy who took my girl away from me?" He smirked but there was a touch of anger in his eyes.

"He's called Jethro." I said calmly, not showing any emotion at all.

"So when do I get to meet this Jethro?" there was a touch of menace in his smile now. The breath caught in my throat. Bad idea. They could never meet; they'd smell each other instantly. They were natural enemies and I loved them both. This wasn't going to turn out well.

"Soon." I lied. I tried to lighten the mood a bit. "Try not to kill him straight away, please."

"I'll try." He smirked. There was an awkward silence as we both thought of something to say. A few questions were cycling around my mind, I asked the first one that I could focus on.

"Why did you come here?" I asked.

"I followed Francis." He grinned at me. "I promised I'd never let him hurt you and I intend to keep that promise. And I wanted to see you." He added the last bit quickly as if not to hurt my feelings. I yawned against my own will. Connor smiled. "Time for bed."

"I'm not tired," I protested, folding my arms across my chest in a childish pout. I was not going to miss a minute with Connor now, not after our long separation.

"Well I am." He smiled, before I knew it I was under the covers and he was lying next to me. His body was warm against my back. He put his arm around me and pressed my body back against his.

"Goodnight." He said, kissing the back of my head.

"Goodnight." I replied stroking his arm and then settling back into his warm embrace. I felt consciousness slip away quickly and I soon fell asleep. Connor slept next to me for the next few nights.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Clothes. Toothbrush. Flashlight. Food. Camera. Knife (just in case of bears). I didn't think I was forgetting anything. All I had to do was tell Adrian I was going camping. I put my fully packed rucksack on the bed. I walked downstairs, Adrian was sat watching TV in the living room. I sat down on the couch next to him.

"Hi, dad." I said, trying to sound casual.

"Hey Ella. You're up early." His eyes never wandered from the TV as he spoke. I watched him curiously. It wasn't like him to ignore me.

"I'm going camping today with a friend." I wasn't asking, it was a fact.

"Ok, Hun. Have fun. Stay safe." He said still staring at the TV. I was shocked, I'd expected a big commotion but he'd just let me go. It had gone easier than expected.

I ran upstairs, got my rucksack, slung it over my shoulders and ran back downstairs. Jethro would be here any minute. Just as my mind started to wander there was a knock at the door. My heart skipped a beat. I walked slowly to the door. I gasped as I opened it. I still wasn't used to his supernatural beauty. He hugged me gently. His eyes were aquamarine blue again. He'd fed recently. His eyes got darker the hungrier he got, when I'd seen them the first time, they'd been pitch black so he must have been really hungry.

"Ready to go?" he asked in his beautiful voice.

All I could do at that moment was nod. I managed to concentrate after a second. "Bye Dad." I called behind me as I shut the door.

It had been a long, merciless hike through the forest to get up here on the mountains. Jethro had set up camp and had lit a fire. The night air was warm and damp. I took off my jacket and my shoes and socks but it did no good. It was very warm. The coolness of the stone ground under my feet felt good. Jethro smiled at me from across the campfire. I smiled back; finally glad to be alone with him.

"Aren't you scared at all?" He asked, genuine curiosity on his face.

I was confused, "Scared of what?" My eyes widened slightly. "The bears and lions?" I'd almost forgotten about them.

Jethro looked puzzled for a moment, "No silly, you know I wouldn't let them hurt you." He looked down sadly and then his eyes met mine again. "I meant scared of me. Scared of being alone with a monster." There was a touch of sadness in his tone.

"You're not a monster." I whispered.

"A creature who hunts down and takes blood from innocent creatures. Seriously, Ella, if that's not a monster I don't know what is." He looked angry now, but I still couldn't understand why.

"It's the circle of life, Jethro." I was scared to speak in case I made him angry but I forced the words out anyway, "One creature dies so another can live. It's the way it's always been. Predator and Prey." I smiled, proud that I'd come up with something intelligent.

I saw a smile tug at the side of his lips. He was by my side in a second. But his perfect face was too close to mine, my breath caught in my throat. "So if I'm the predator, are you my prey?" He teased; he smiled glancing at my lips and then into my eyes. I could feel his cool breath on my lips, confusing me. He was too close; I couldn't focus. He realised what his closeness was doing to me and he smiled smugly and moved his head slightly closer. Our lips were millimetres apart now.

"I love you." He whispered, and then I felt his cool lips on mine. I felt like I was going to faint. His lips were cold but soft like the rest of his skin. I felt his arms wrap around my waist and I responded by wrapping my arms around his neck. I desperately wanted to kiss him properly. The kiss only lasted a few seconds; it was only a peck on the lips. But it was enough to make me dizzy. I crushed myself against him, pressing my lips to his again, wanting more. But he pushed me back gently but with ease. He chuckled slightly then looked into my eyes. I was pouting like a five-year-old again.

"Don't test my self control yet." He smiled, but I continued to pout, "I'm not as safe as you think."

"I'll take that risk." I said quickly pushing myself against him again. But he caught me before our lips could meet and pushed me back again.

"Well I won't." He was serious now, "I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Nothing will happen to me." I protested, "I trust you."

"Well I don't trust myself," He said, "I don't know how in control I am. Please, Ella. Please don't push me." He looked pleadingly into my eyes. His pained expression made me feel guilty and made me want to comfort him, but I knew that wouldn't help.

"Ok." I sighed in defeat. He smiled and then pulled me close to him and hugged me gently.

"I think you should go to sleep, you look tired." He said, caressing my cheek with his cold hand.

I nodded and let him carry me to the tent. I crawled inside and collapsed on the cushions. He crawled in the tent and laid next to me. He wrapped his arm around me, his cool body helped a lot in the warm tent. I pressed back against him.

"Is this ok?" I asked, anxiously. Hoping that this wasn't too much for him to handle.

"Yes, just fine." He sighed with pleasure and kissed my head lightly. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I whispered and relaxed.

Sleep came quickly and before I knew it, it was morning.

My vision was blurry at first, but it soon adjusted to a dull vision of blue. The tent was such a dull colour. Not a lot of light was coming through; it must be a cloudy day. I found my clothes lying next to be, where Jethro had laid next to me last night. I put them on, found my toothbrush in my bag and brushed my teeth, then brushed my hair. I crawled outside the tent; the ground was a darker shade of grey and was moist. It had rained last night. A bitter wind bit at my exposed flesh and whipped my just-brushed hair out of place. I sighed with frustration. This was an uncharted island off the coast of Tasmania, it was supposed to be warm. But it rained a lot here and it was cloudy and cold. This really was a weird place. Going against nature. Like the creatures in it, I thought fearfully. I saw Jethro standing motionless a few meters away from the tent. He looked tense, like the slightest noise would set him off. I didn't want to approach him, so I spoke from where I was.

"What's wrong?" I could only whisper from fear. But he heard me.

"Francis." He said tonelessly, confirming my fears. "He's been here recently…but that's not my main concern."

"What is?" I could hardly even hear myself say it, but his sensitive hearing picked it up with ease.

"There's another Lycan heading this way. They're following your scent. I don't recognize their scent. It's probably one of Francis' pack, investigating." In a split second he was by my side. "I won't let it hurt you." He whispered comfortingly in my ear after taking one look at my horrified expression.

"I'm not scared for me!" I choked out the words, trying to rush them, not sure how much time there was before this werewolf arrived. "I'm scared you're going to get hurt!"

"My main concern is protecting you." He said calmly but his eyes blazing with rage, "Don't even try to make this about my safety."

I just looked down sadly, not wanting to think about Jethro up against a huge wolf. The difference in size would be unbelievable. But I wasn't sure about strength, could Jethro take on a werewolf in wolf form. I shuddered at the thought. I saw Jethro's eye widen slightly and then he was gone. He was a few feet away from me, poised to strike at any moment. Then it all happened quickly. A huge wolf with chocolate brown fur leapt out from the trees, landing gracefully on the hard stone of the camping grounds. There was a low snarling sound and I realised it was coming from Jethro. It sounded much more menacing than the one I'd heard come from Tyrone on the night he'd fought over me with Francis. The wolf crouched like a lion ready to strike a low growling escaping from it's jaws.

The wolf glanced at me, its amber eyes blazing with fury, but as I stared back they softened and I suddenly recognized it. I leapt up, running forward. Jethro caught me as I tried to pass him. The wolf let out a bark and it's growl intensified, the wolf stepped forward still in the crouched position. Jethro stepped back and hissed. I didn't dare look at his face, afraid of what I'd see.

"No, Jethro!" I whispered urgently, "Please, let me go to him."

Jethro glanced at me, but I didn't look at his face. The sight of his fang and his blood red eyes would scare me.

"Are you insane!" He hissed back.

"Trust me on this, Jethro." I whispered, "_Please_!" there were nearly tears in my eyes now. The wolf had stopped growling and was simply looking at us now, but he did not relax his defensive position. Slowly and reluctantly Jethro let me go. I made my way slowly over to the wolf. Not sure if my earlier theory was right. I stopped just a few centimetres away from the wolf.

"Connor?" I whispered, praying I was right. And this wasn't one of Francis's pack. The wolf relaxed it's defensive position and stood up properly. He stepped forward, bent his head down and nuzzled me. Yep, it was Connor. I threw my arms around his big furry neck and hugged him softly. It had been so close to him and Jethro ending up in a fight. He lifted his head slightly, so my feet no longer touched the floor as I held onto him. There was a flash and I was in Connor's arms. The wolf had gone and there stood my Connor. He stroked my hair comfortingly, misreading my relief.

"Shh. It's ok. I wouldn't have hurt you. You know that." He whispered comfortingly. I glanced over at Jethro, his eyes were back to their luminous aquamarine and his face was controlled not to show any emotion, but I could tell he felt uncomfortable.

I let go of Connor and led him closer to Jethro, but he stopped a few feet away from Jethro and I remember the whole vampire, werewolf, war.

"Connor this is Jethro. Jethro, Connor." I gestured at each one as I said their name.

"So the infamous Jethro turns out to be a parasite." Connor laughed dryly. "You know how to choose 'em, Ella." I glared at Connor for a long moment, but he ignored me turning back to Jethro. "So you're the guy whole stole my girl." He addressed Jethro directly now.

"No, not really. She came willingly." Jethro said calmly.

"Well, I'll have her back now thanks." Connor said, a touch of anger in his tone now.

"Sorry, not possible." Jethro said, still as calm as ever, his face a mask covering all emotion.

"And why not?" Connor said through his teeth.

"You have someone else, you told her to find someone here. So I'm afraid you're too late. She loves me now." There was a hint of smugness in Jethro's tone as he watched Connor's eyes narrow with anger.

"No one can love a parasite. And a parasite can't feel love." Connor replied, trying to control his anger.

"Well I love her, she loves me, I'm not a parasite and maybe you should leave before you upset her anymore." Jethro waved his hand as a dismissal. I was shocked, Jethro hadn't even looked at me once since talking to Connor and he already knew I was upset by what was being said.

"I've looked after Ella since she was eight. She is rightfully mine! And I'm not gonna let a filthy bloodsucker come here and ruin my relationship with the one I love." Connor was almost shouting now.

"What about her?" Jethro gestured towards the trees. I looked too; I hadn't noticed that we weren't alone. I slender young woman stood by the trees looking frail and scared. She had long, flowing blonde hair, tanned skin, a heart-shaped face, blue eyes and a body that would rival Courtney's. She was wearing a tight jeans, a tight pink crop top and sandals. She was beautiful. Emily, I thought with a twinge of hate. Connor's new love, how could he possibly want me back when he was that. _You need to take a good look in the mirror sometime_, Jethro's voice was in my mind again. I looked at him, but his eyes were still on Connor as he judged his reaction. Emily looked at Connor, there was no emotion portrayed on her face.

"That's different!" Connor whispered angrily, turning back to Jethro, "I couldn't help that! That was an accident!"

"Well maybe you should take your accident and leave. So me and Ella can be happy together." Jethro was still as calm as ever; I wondered what he was actually feeling inside.

"I love Ella! And I'm not leaving her in the protection of a bloodsucker when there's a bigger threat out there coming after her!" Connor was close to snapping.

"Two bigger threats." Jethro corrected.

"And what's the other?"

"A Rogue."

Connor's eyes widened slightly with fear. He turned to Emily. And summoned her forward. He held her close to him, safe in his arms. The way he used to hold me, a pang of jealous hit me hard. I saw Emily eyeing up Jethro, and she smiled at him. He returned the smile half-heartedly. The jealousy bubbling up inside me. How could I compete with Emily? Even Courtney wouldn't even measure up to Emily's beauty. She'd taken my Connor, now she wanted Jethro? I may not be a supernatural creature but I could take Emily down, I was sure of it. She even went near my Jethro and she'd regret it. I saw Jethro smile slightly and shake his head. _You're way more beautiful than her_, Jethro assured me in my mind, _you own my heart and my soul and that will never change_. I smiled slightly but I wasn't convinced, I was still thinking up ways to torture Emily.

_Aww you're cute when you're jealous_, his voice said again. I looked at him; he was smiling again and shaking his head. I suddenly felt cold hands around my waist, rubbing gently. I looked up, but Jethro hadn't moved, he was still watching Connor carefully. A flash of panic rushed through me, this wasn't Jethro doing this. But before I could say anything the hands moved to my neck and all my fear disappeared. I couldn't help but feel relaxed. A beautiful soothing voice whispered in my ear, "Come with me."

I looked at Jethro, still relaxed. His sensitive hearing hadn't picked it up.

"Go to the tent." The voice whispered, almost as light as the – now – gentle breeze. I obeyed without hesitation. I got up and started towards the tent.

"Where are you going?" Jethro asked, now looking concerned. He probably thought he'd upset me.

"I'm just going to sit in the tent," my voice was almost as relaxed as the one that had spoke to me. He looked suspicious but then nodded. I continued and crawled into the tent.

"Climb out the back, I'll be waiting." The voice whispered again, "but please, don't get caught."

I obeyed again. Why couldn't I resist the soothing voice? How could it have such power over me? All I knew was that I wanted to be with him, whoever he was. I unzipped the back of the tent and quietly climbed out and zipped it up again. I walked forward into the unfamiliar trees but I had a strange sense that I knew where I was going. I walked on and on; no light was hitting the forest floor. I tripped over outgrowing roots a few times. But it didn't put me off. I just got back up and carried on. I wondered what Jethro would think of this.

The trees started to thin out and light started to get through; I knew I must be near a clearing.

Sure enough as I walked on the trees grew thinned out until I was eventually in a small clearing and in the centre stood a boy. No older than me. He was a vampire I could see that much straight away. He was gorgeous. He had long blonde hair, almost the same shade as Aiden's but not quite. He had glowing emerald green eyes. And wore plain jeans and a black T-shirt. It made his pale skin look even paler. He summoned me forward, a smile on his perfect face. I obeyed, no hesitation. I wanted to panic but I couldn't, not in _his_ presence.

"Hello," he said, his voice more real now, but still as soothing and light as the wind, "My name is Shade. There is no need to be afraid." He smiled even wider, but it didn't quite touch his eyes.

"I'm not afraid." I protested. "Just curious." Where had all this confidence come from? Was it his presence – Shade's presence – that made me feel safe and at home. The way I always felt around Jethro or Connor. I started to feel a little dizzy, my knees buckled and I fell. But cold arms caught me before I hit the floor. Shade stood me back upright. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a small bottle full of a bright pink liquid. He unscrewed the lid and handed the bottle to me.

"Drink it. You'll feel better." He promised. I took a sip from the bottle; it tasted good. Very sweet. I quickly finished of the small bottle and handed it back to him. "Better?"

I nodded, strangely I did feel better, and I had a strange sense of power. But that soon faded away. Suddenly the forest began to spin and the ground moved underneath my feet. I felt dizzy and a little sick. I staggered to the side to keep my balance, but my vision was growing darker and blurry. I groaned as my head started to ache and throbbed violently. I felt myself fall, but I didn't hit the ground. I was in Shade's arms, but the world was still spinning out of control around me. My vision started to black out even more.

"Sleep, my dear one." Shade whispered, "Everything will be ok, when you wake up."

The spinning quickened its pace and my head throbbed more violently than ever. I let the last of my consciousness go, hoping for the peace that came with sleep. My world darkened and the spinning slowed. And I was gone.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Blackness filled my world. What was I supposed to be doing? Who am I? What's going on? The thoughts spun in my head. I couldn't remember anything. I was dead. I must be. It felt so cold. So empty.

"Ella?" a voice echoed in the blackness. They sounded close; they must be looking for someone. Someone called Ella. Maybe I should help. I tried to speak but all that came out of my mouth was a small groan.

"Ella?" The voice came again, but it was much closer this time. "Are you awake?" It said. I felt myself be shaken slightly. I realised my eyes were closed, and quickly opened them. All I saw was a blur at first. There was something leaning over me, a person perhaps. And there was some light close by, but it was distorted and flickering. Slowly but surely my vision began to focus and I saw that the person leaning over me was a boy, he was beautiful. But I didn't recognize him. His shoulder length blonde hair hung down as he leaned over me.

"Ella. Finally. You're awake." The boy smiled down at me. So I was Ella and I'd been asleep not dead. "Do you remember me?" he asked, still smiling. I shook my head, but I wanted to remember him, he was so beautiful. "Do you remember anything?" he asked again. I shook my head again. "Good" he smiled.

"What – What happened?" I stuttered, my voice a little croaky at first, "Where am I?…Who am I?" I looked at him hopefully, maybe he could clear up everything, he seemed to know me. He laughed at my confused expression.

"You're Helena Louise Graceland and I'm Shade James Spencer." He said, "You fell and hit your head pretty hard, you've been unconscious for days. You're in Crystal Waters Forest with me, you moved here to Crystal Waters to live with your father Adrian after your mother Clara died in a car crash." He explained it. I vaguely remembered the car crash and my father in crystal waters. But there was something I was forgetting. Something very important. But I just couldn't think of what it was.

"And who are you?" I asked, eyeing him curiously.

"I'm Shade." He was grinning now, showing his sparkling white teeth, "I'm your boyfriend." He kissed my forehead lightly.

"Oh." Was all I could say. Wow, I thought to myself, I must be pretty lucky to get a guy as good looking as this.

"But-" He added this in a bit more serious tone. "There is something you have to know about me, you knew this before you hit your head, I just don't want you to be scared ok?"

"Ok."

"I'm a vampire." He confessed. I stared at him for a moment. He was serious. I guess it wasn't so bad, I could live with that.

"Ok." I repeated. He looked startled that I'd taken it so well. But then he smiled and pressed him lips to mine. His lips cold and hard against mine. When he pulled back he looked serious again.

"There is more I have to tell you." He looked into my eyes, judging my reaction. But my only reaction was curiosity of this new world around me. "There are others after you. Who want to hurt you." He judged my reaction, but I was still curious to find our who, so he continued. "The first is a clan of rogue vampires like ourselves that have teamed up with a pack of werewolves to come and find you. The leader of the Clan of vampires is called Tyrone and the werewolf alpha-male is called Francis. The second is a pack of werewolves, their leader is called Connor. Don't let him trick you, he'll try to lure you close and then he will attack.

"And the third and most dangerous of all is a small clan of civilised vampires, who have learnt to live with humans. Their leader can read minds and can influence you to do anything he wants, but don't worry about that part, I gave you something to stop him from getting into your head. But don't be fooled, he is very persuasive. Him and his clan will try take you back to the humans – and away from me. Then they will come after our clan and kill us all, and they will go back for you later because you know too much about our kind." He looked at me, his expression was sad.

"What's his name? – the one who can read mind," I asked.

"Jethro." Shade almost hissed the name.

Was all this trouble over me? Shade looked strong but with all these creatures after me, I wasn't sure he could take them all. I made a promise to myself that I would do anything at all to help him. I suddenly saw the flickering light again, I looked around Shade. There was a huge bonfire. I looked around that we were in the middle of a small clearing in the forest and it was dark. The full moon shone in the cloudless sky. Around the bonfire sat five people. No, I realised, they were five vampires. Two girls and three boys. They were all as beautiful as the next. One girl had short blonde hair and green eyes like Shade. The other had bright fiery red hair with glowing lilac eyes. The boy sat next to the red haired girl looked very slim but had muscle, he had short black hair and green eyes. The one sat next to him had a lot of muscle, so much that it scared me to even think of his strength, he had short brown hair and green eyes. And then there was the last one, sat well away from any of the others. His eyes a shiny golden colour and his hair was long and jet black, it rested on his leather jacket just below his shoulders. He had his fair share of muscle, but looked very fragile compared to the others.

Shade noticed that I was staring past him. "Do you want to go meet them?" he asked, a slight smile touched his lips.

I stared at the five vampires around the bonfire, horrified. This could not end well.

"Come on." He prompted, standing up and pulling me up with him. "They don't bite…much." He smirked at the last bit. I gulped, just wishing I'd drop dead now before I embarrassed myself.

"Ella, this is Lola, Celeste, Thomas, Draco and Jasper." He introduced them all by waving toward each one as he said their name. They either waved of said "hi" after he'd said their name, all except Jasper, who just glanced at me, then looked back into the fire. Jasper was the odd one out, he was the one who sat alone. Lola was the blonde, Celeste the redhead, Thomas the one next to Celeste, Draco the muscly one and Jasper the silent and lonesome. Jasper was the only one who made me curious. He was different from the others, even his eyes showed that. Shade led me over to sit with Lola and the others. I desperately wanted to go sit with Jasper, find out what was wrong, why he was sat alone, why he didn't sit and talk with the others.

I sat and got to know Shade's clan, all except Jasper of course. Who still remained a mystery to me. Celeste and Thomas were very nice, they started up a few conversations with me and smiled at me a lot. Lola seemed to have something against me, but I didn't know exactly what I'd done wrong to upset her. Draco thought my human ranting were hilarious and used his size – that already scared me – to scare me even more. And Jasper ignored me and everyone ignored him, well, everyone except me, who couldn't stop staling glances at him when I was sure no one was looking.

"Where's Aiden?" Lola asked. "He should have been back by now." She looked around us, looking into the forest, but he expression was concerned, so she obviously hadn't seen him.

"He's nearly here." Shade assured her. Aiden, I thought. Something in the back of my mind stirred. I recognized the name, I just couldn't remember where from. Suddenly I realised someone by my side, I turned quickly. A boy with sandy coloured blonde long hair sat by my side; the reflection from the flames dancing in his light green eyes. His expression was a mix between horror and anger. It scared me and I snuggled myself into Shade's side, he wrapped a comforting arm around me and glared at Aiden. I recognized his face as well, but I couldn't remember at all.

"_What_ is _she_ doing here?" He said through his teeth. His eyes narrowed as he glared back at Shade.

"She's my girlfriend," He smirked at Aiden and I couldn't understand why this bothered Aiden so much, Aiden didn't even know me. "We're protecting her from Jethro and the others." Shade tightened his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. Aiden let out a snarl.

"I told you to leave her with Jethro!" Aiden snapped, "She's safer with him, than with you!"

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy there, Aiden?" There was smugness in Shade's tone now. Aiden glowered at him, a rasping growl escaping his lips now. It took him a minute to compose himself. He stopped the growling and took a few deep breaths.

"You know he'll come after us, he can read minds, or did you forget that? He'll be attuned to her mind by now. When they find us, he'll take her away and kill us all." Aiden stated.

"No I haven't forgotten that he can read minds. I gave her something to stop that." Shade replied calmly, smiling.

Aiden's eyes widened, "You didn't-?" He couldn't finish his sentence.

"Well of course." Shade smiled, I looked up at him and his cold lips pressed to mine for a few short seconds. It was strange every time he kissed me, it didn't feel right. Like he wasn't the one. I didn't feel at home around him, it felt alien to me, but I put it down to hitting my head.

"You're a monster!" Aiden hissed angrily, shaking his head in denial.

"Don't worry, Aiden. She's safe with us." Shade assured him, but there was humour in his tone.

"And what do you plan to do about the smell? Huh? One of us gets hungry and there goes her life. And she smells really good, I'm sure Jethro will be able to follow her scent. He will eventually find us." Aiden was just so negative about me, he must really hate me.

"I've covered up her scent, so there's nothing to follow. When he finds us, we'll be ready to stand and fight. And as for us getting hungry – well lets just say, she won't be on the menu much longer." He smirked at Aiden.

"You plan to change her!" Aiden was shouting now, "You plan to damn her for a life as a monster for eternity!" He was on his feet now and I realised, so were we. I hadn't even felt us get up, but I was standing; Aiden only inches away from me.

"No I won't let you!" He shouted.

"And why is that?" Shade smiled evilly now, "Come on tell us why."

Aiden froze, anger still in his shimmering eyes but stuck for something to say.

"Why the sudden feelings for the human? The human you supposedly hate?"

Aiden glared at Shade now, the anger intensifying. "I don't hate her." He said slowly, pronouncing each word carefully.

"But why the sudden interest in her life?"

Aiden froze again, he closed his eyes and shook his head.

"You still love her, don't you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Aiden nodded, his eyes still closed. "Then here," Shade pushed me forward towards Aiden, I tripped over my own feet, but Aiden caught me before I fell, "Take her, she's your responsibility now." Shade said and then sat back down. Celeste looked stunned, she opened her mouth to protest but decided not to. Lola smiled, obviously happy that Shade didn't want me anymore.

"No she can look after herself." Aiden protested, but his voice broke on the last word, like he was about to start crying and in a split second he was gone. I stood alone, staring into the forest where Aiden had disappeared. I felt cold arms wrap around me.

It was Celeste.

"It's ok, Ella." She said soothingly, "He's just in a bad mood, he'll come around. I'm here for you if you ever need anything."

"Thanks, Celeste." I replied shyly, she was a very sweet girl. She looked the same age as me, so did most of them here, except Draco and Thomas who looked a bit older.

The next day I spent the whole day sleeping. There was another roaring bonfire going when I woke up that night. Jasper sat alone again in his same spot by the fire. But the others were sat on the far side of the clearing, nowhere near the fire. I thought I'd take my chances and went to sit on the other side of the fire to Jasper. Ignoring the others who were calling me over and waving me over. They looked confused – or scared – when I sat by the fire, but none made a move to come and get me. I looked at Jasper, his eyes hadn't moved from the fire. I was determined not to be the first to talk. I looked into the fire as well and let my mind wander as I watched the flames dance and reach up for the sky. I tried to remember my past, but the last thing I remember was feeling dizzy and sick which must have been when I fell over and hit my head. I'd been informed on vampire abilities and everything like that. I imagined myself as a vampire, the supernatural beauty, the heightened sense, the speed, the strength – the fangs. I shuddered at the last thought. Having to drink blood, I just couldn't imagine myself doing it.

"Hey." An unfamiliar voice quietly said. I looked up from the fire, distracted from my thoughts. I looked around me and over at the others at the far side. They were busy talking. I looked over at Jasper. I was shocked, his golden eyes were focused on me now. But his face remained neutral, no glare yet no smile.

His voice was soothing and beautiful, I bet he was a very good singer. "Sorry, for ignoring you. It's just for the best." There was a hint of sadness in his golden eyes.

"Why is it for the best?" I could hardly make my voice louder than a whisper.

"I have the least self-control here. You smell – well – delicious. And I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I hurt you." His eyes strayed back to the fire and he stared at it for a long minute. "I'll see you later." He said, then disappeared. As soon as he was gone Celeste was by my side.

"Jasper spoke to you?" She said, shocked.

"Yeah." I was just as shocked as she was.

"Well? What did he say?" There was excitement in her eyes now.

"He just said sorry that he'd been ignoring me." I hate to bring down her mood, but I had to tell the truth.

"Oh," She looked disappointed for a moment and then brightened up again, "are you coming to dance tonight?" she asked. "It's the start of mating season for vampires, the dance of destiny, oh it'll be so much fun!" she looked so hopeful.

"_What _season? Dance of Destiny?" I was confused and scared all at the same time, had I heard correctly, _mating_ season?

"Mating season. Like animals breed during their mating season, mating season is the only time a female vampire can get pregnant. And as for the Dance of Destiny, we all dance around a bonfire in masks and we continuously switch partners until eventually you end up dancing with your perfect mate for that season." She explained, "Oh please come, it'll be so much fun."

I thought about it for a minute. I didn't like the idea of _mating_ season or dancing for that matter. But I didn't want to let Celeste down, she'd been so nice to me.

"Ok, I guess I can come." I replied slowly, not sure if I should agree, "But I don't know the dance and I can't dance."

"It's comes natural, Hunny. Just let the music guide you." She smiled and then disappeared.

I put on my white mask, which was the same as all the other girls, with the black patterns of eyelashes painted on. I put on my cloak, black satin with a red silk lining. I pulled up the hood over my head and walked out into the opening. The bonfire roared up, almost like it was alive and trying to escape. There was low African hand-drum music in the background, I looked around twice, but I saw no drums or drummers anywhere. All the others were there in their cloaks and masks, all seven, I couldn't tell who was who. I sprayed on the very strong perfume that everyone else was wearing to disguise their scent and walked forward. When they saw me coming they quickly got into partners facing each other. Each couple stood in a certain place around the bonfire, one person was left waiting for me. I realised with their only being three girls that two boys were going to get left out. I stood in front of my partner, they way the others were doing. The music became louder and suddenly we were moving. Swinging, swaying and twirling with the music. Celeste was right, as soon as we started moving I knew what i was doing. I knew all the right moves. My partner twirled me and I spun into the arms of a new partner, I saw the two boys who were left out, standing out of the way watching, they still had their cloaks and masks on so I didn't see who they were. But I had a feeling it was Jasper and Aiden. So the dance continued. I twirled on to a new partner when the music directed me to. I was having so much fun, I loved dancing. I moved on to my new partner and I heard the music slow. Was it over? Was I _this_ vampire's perfect mate for mating season? It seemed so. We were slow dancing now, our feet moving perfectly in time. I stared at the white mask of the boy who I was now with. He was taller than me and looked down on me, but I couldn't see his eyes. His arms were wound tightly around my waist and mine around his neck. Soon the music lowered to just a background noise. The boy reached forward and pushed my hood back and then removed my mask slowly and gently. His fingertips traced the curves of my lip. I reached up slowly and pushed back his hood and removed his mask. Bright golden eyes stared down at me, but there was nothing neutral about him tonight. His eyes were bright, warm and friendly.

"Jasper?" I almost gasped, but managed to stop myself just in time. I didn't want him to think I didn't want this.

"Helena." He breathed my name, relief and happiness obvious in his tone. Then he smiled, a breath-taking smile. I stared in awe. It was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen. Jasper had a face meant to smile. I felt good to see him so happy. I realised the others were staring at us. Jasper didn't seem to care and pressed his cheek against my hair. I looked at the others. Aiden was fuming. Celeste was smiling. Lola, Thomas and Draco looked shocked and Shade's face was controlled but I saw a smile when he glanced over to see Aiden's expression.

"Jasper? What about your self-control?" I asked, remembering our earlier conversation. His self-control seemed pretty good now – well at least I wasn't dead yet – he looked down at me his golden eyes still warm.

"I think I can handle this." He smiled and pressed his face back against my hair and inhaled deeply. "You didn't spray any perfume on your hair." He commented, taking another deep breath, enjoying the smell. I started to panic slightly.

"Oh, sorry, I will do now." I said quickly, reaching for my pocket. His hand caught mine half way to my pocket.

"Don't be stupid." He said, "I said I could handle this, didn't I?"

I nodded once and placed my arm back around his neck.

The next morning I awoke to the pleasant smell of bacon and eggs. Which was weird because we were in the middle of a forest. I opened my eyes, only to see a plate with bacon, eggs and beans on it. It smelled delicious. I picked up the fork that was lying on the side of the plate and started eating.

I placed the last fork-full of beans into my mouth and placed my fork on the empty plate.

"Did you like that?" a beautiful voice asked. Jasper stood smiling at me. The only problem was he was stood quite a distance away from me. He flitted over – his movements so fast it was a blur – picked up the plate and went back to where he was stood. "See you in a minute." He smiled at me again and then flitted away. I was confused. Why had he stood so far away? Did I smell? I sniffed at my t-shirt self-consciously. Nope. I didn't smell. Did I have something on my face? I ran my hand over my lips and looked at it. No there was no food on it or anything. So what was the problem? Jasper was back a short while later. He sat down, the same distance away from me as he just had been. I got up and started to walk toward him, he moved back with every step I took. It started to annoy me. I clenched my fists in annoyance.

"What are you doing?" I asked through my teeth.

"Protecting your innocence. And also saving your life." He said calmly. Protecting my _innocence_? I didn't understand. I continued to stare at him, waiting for him to explain but by his expression it didn't seem like he was going to say anything else.

"My innocence?" I repeated, still a little annoyed. What the hell was he on about? He gave me a long look, then he looked away embarrassed.

"It's mating season, Ella." He explained quietly, "We tend to…lose it a bit." It suddenly hit me what he was saying.

"_Oh_," I was still in shock. That explained where the others were, but I didn't want to think about what they were doing. I shuddered at the thought. "So aren't I allowed near you until it's over then?" I asked, predicting the answer.

"Well –" He thought for a moment, "I guess I could now and again when I felt in control of myself. Like now." He was by my side in a few seconds. Suddenly the clouds moved aside and the sun beamed down on us. I gasped. Vampires and sunlight-equalled death, didn't it? I looked quickly at Jasper who was sat in a white T-shirt and blue jeans today. The sun reflected off his incredibly pale skin, making it look like it was glowing.

"Doesn't it hurt you?" I asked, desperately wanting to reach out and touch his glowing skin, but too afraid in case he turned to ash at my touch. Jasper laughed at my horrified expression.

"No. That's just a myth, Helena. So is the garlic and holy water." He explained, still smiling.

"What about the stakes?" I asked.

He flinched slightly, "That's true."

"And the coffins are a myth, because you don't sleep, right?"

"Right."

I yawned against my own will. Jasper chuckled. "Get some rest, I'll wake you up at nightfall." He promised. I wasn't in the mood for arguing, so I lay back down on the ground and tried to fall asleep, it came quickly.

Jasper shook me gently and I awoke quickly. The bonfire was already going and the sky was dark. Despite all the sleep I'd just had, I was still tired. Jasper took his usual spot by the fire; I could tell by his expression that I wasn't allowed to sit with him. I sat with Celeste and Lola. Jasper stared into the fire again, he seemed so alone but there was something about his eyes I hadn't noticed before. He way he looked into the fire, it wasn't as if he was just watching it, or if his mind was wandering. It was like he was concentrating, concentrating very hard on something we could not see.

A conversation started up on our side. I was watching Jasper too much to pat attention. What was he looking at? What could he see that I couldn't?

I realised suddenly that my side had gone very quiet; I glanced around to see they were all looking at me expectantly.

"Sorry, I was miles away, what did you say?" I smiled apologetically

"I asked what happened with you and Jasper last night?" Celeste repeated, not the slightest bit annoyed with me. Celeste was such a good friend, loyal, patient and caring.

Shade and Aiden sat quietly. Shade smirking and watching Aiden's expression. Aiden looked angry but curious. Thomas and Draco looked interested but Lola couldn't care less.

"Nothing really. We danced and we talked a bit." I said shyly, I wasn't sure if Jasper was listening.

"It looked like serious chemistry brewing there to me." Celeste said, nudging me playfully. I couldn't help but smile at her positive attitude toward everything.

"Sure." I said as sarcastically as possible. But Celeste just laughed.

"There was, honestly. Jasper is usually the one left out during mating season. We were surprised when we saw him dancing with you." Celeste sighed happily, "And then he smiled, he hardly ever smiles. You must have some super powers that you're not telling us about." She laughed and we all laughed with her (well all except Jasper of course, who was still absorbed in staring at the fire.)

The next five nights were the same, we all sat around the bonfire, talking, laughing and enjoying ourselves. Jasper didn't talk at all at night, but him and me bonded through the day and we were inseparable in just a few days. Every morning I woke up to his beautiful face, smiling at me, he'd have my breakfast in front of me and after I'd eaten we'd talk.

But on the sixth day, everything changed.

I woke up in the morning by myself. The clearing was deserted. I started to panic. Not even the ashes from the bonfire were left. Was I in the right place? Or had they moved on without me? Where was Jasper? Where was I? I was really started to panic, Jasper wouldn't leave me alone, would he? I got up quickly. Looking around quickly. I saw nothing that indicated that anyone had been here. No bonfire ashes, no clothes left on the log… no log for that matter. I was definitely lost. Had I sleepwalked out here alone while they were hunting? Probably. Well I was going to have to find them myself. There seemed to be a path at one side of the clearing it led through the dense forest. I ran toward it, heart racing. I had to find them. I had to find them before something got me. Before I got myself. I suddenly felt weak and helpless. I remember what Shade had told me about the people who were after me. There were so many and here I was, running through the forest alone. An easy target. The path disappeared half way through the forest but I didn't care, I kept running, hoping, praying I would find Jasper or the others.

"Help!" I shouted, hoping their sensitive ears could pick it up. Or maybe a forest ranger would hear me, but he'd take me back to the humans. I'd try to avoid that, but I was scared and alone now. "Please someone help me!" There were tears in my eyes as I ran. Someone had to be out there. Someone. Anyone. Just someone help me. I ran, as fast as I could through the thick dark forest. Some low braches reached out menacingly, some scraped and but my arms as I ran past them. "Help me!" I shouted again.

"Ella?" I familiar but distant voice shouted. I ran toward it, I saw a clearing up ahead. That must be it. If not at least someone was there. The trees became more spaced out and I burst into the clearing. It was only a small one, but it wasn't the right one. I saw a boy and ran toward him, he turned when I'd closed half the distance between us. As soon as I saw his face, I froze in place. I recognized the face, but I couldn't remember where from.

"Helena." He sighed with relief, "Thank god you're ok. I was so worried, I couldn't find you mind amongst the others and I still can't seem to get through. I was so worried, you've been gone for days." A mind reader, someone who was coming after me. The worst one, the most dangerous. Don't listen to him, he's persuasive, I told myself harshly. He wants to take me away from Shade – away from Jasper! I won't let it happen.

The boy started walking towards me, his light blue eyes glowing with relief and happiness. I backed away quickly. He paused for a moment, confused. "Ella?" he said again. There was a strange force, drawing me into him. Something telling me to go to him. Going to him would be the right thing to do. But I remembered Shade had said he can influence my mind, but he'd also said that he'd stopped this boy – this creature – getting into my head. So was it my own mind doing this? Telling me to go to the very thing that was going to destroy me later, as well as my friend. Telling me it was ok, he's the one. I ignored my mind and concentrated on Jasper. I didn't want to leave Jasper, or Shade, or Celeste or any of them for that matter. They were my family now and I loved them all, but something in the back of my mind was screaming for this boy. The one who wanted to kill me.

"Ella – it's me – Jethro – Don't you remember me?" His eyes were still confused, he took another step towards me and I shuffled back instinctively, my hands flying up to my throat and hiding it from his sight. He winced as if it had hurt him.

I nodded slowly, eyes wide with terror, "You're – You're the one trying to take me – back to the humans! Away from my family!" I accused. The pain drained from his eyes and the confusion returned.

"Family? What family?" The curiosity in his voice sounded genuine, but I wasn't taking any chances.

"You know what I'm talking about!" I shouted, "I won't let you hurt them!"

"Ella, what are you talking about? What family? Me and Connor have been looking for you for days."

Connor, a werewolf who was after me with his pack. So Jethro and Connor had teamed up to get me, to kill my family together.

If I escaped Jethro alive I'd have to warn my family.

"I won't let you hurt me or my family!" I repeated.

Jethro looked appalled at what I'd just said. "Helena, I love you. I love you so much, you know I would never hurt you. _Never_!"

"If you love me so much, why are you trying to kill me? Huh?"

"I'm not!" He was angry now, "I love you! Why would I want to kill you? I've already told you I can't live without you!"

"Well if you love me so much, why don't you just leave me and my family alone!"

The words hurt him, he winced. He looked at me, his eyes pained. "Helena, please listen. Something's happened to you. You've been lost in the forest for days, we've been looking for you. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to save you. Francis and Tyrone are still out there and there has been a lot of Rogue activity around these parts. I love you, why won't you believe me? I can't live without you, please –" He stopped mid-sentence and sniffed the air. He moved back into the shadows of the trees, "Helena, hide!" He whispered urgently, "Something's coming!"

I didn't move, I wanted something to find me, to save me from Jethro. Before he managed to convince me that he was telling the truth. Shade was right, he was very persuasive. Everything that he'd said, it all sounded so real, so true. But I couldn't be caught up in this boy's lies, I might end up losing my family. Jasper came into view at the side of the clearing, I saw Jethro's eyes widen with fear. I looked away from him and over to Jasper, who flitted to me side instantly. He pulled me into his arms and hugged me against his chest.

"Oh, Helena." He sighed with relief, "What were you thinking? You don't go into the forest alone! Not unless me or one of the others is with you. _Why_? Why did you do it?" He demanded, his voice serious now as he pushed me back slightly to look into my eyes, his arms still around me. His golden eyes intense.

"I was scared." I admitted, dropping my gaze to the floor. "There was nothing in the clearing and I thought you'd moved on without me."

Jasper sighed and hugged me back against his chest, "You know I wouldn't leave you behind," I felt him suddenly tense, he'd smelt Jethro. I looked over to where Jethro was, he was out of the shadows now, no longer hiding. Jasper snarled and pushed me behind him defensively. Jasper crouched down into a striking position and snarled even more. Jethro did the same. This was going to end up in a fight.

"No!" I screamed, "No stop!" I ran forward, in between both of them. It was a stupid move if Jethro was trying to kill me. I couldn't bare to see Jasper get hurt, it would kill me to see it, but at the same time I didn't want Jethro to be hurt either. Despite what Shade had said, Jethro seemed serious about loving me. Even if it was a lie and he was actually trying to kill me, what he'd said had got to me.

"Helena, get back here!" Jasper shouted, leaping forward. Jethro moved toward me too, faster than Jasper but didn't touch me.

"Don't you touch her!" Jethro snarled back at Jasper. I looked at them, one after the other, again and again. Both their irises were blood red and their razor sharp fangs bared. Their canines had grown, incredibly long and sharp. I felt like a little mouse trapped in a cage with two lions that could rip me to shreds at any time, but also could rip each other to shreds. I felt trapped.

"Jasper! _Please_! Don't fight!" I pleaded. Jasper looked at me for a moment and then at Jethro. He sighed in defeat and relaxed his position and stood up. Jethro did the same.

"Helena?" Jethro pleaded. Jasper snarled at him.

"Jasper please, let him talk." I said. Jasper stopped snarling but continued to glare at Jethro. Shade suddenly appeared at our side, followed closely by the others. Jethro stepped back slightly. Celeste stood next to me and wrapped a comforting arm around me.

Shade stepped forward, toward Jethro. Jethro met his gaze and his fear turned to blind fury. "_You_!" He snarled, walking forward, his position ready to strike at any time. Shade held up a hand to signal his to stop, but he didn't.

"Ah, Jethro. Don't forget who I've got over there." Shade warned, smugness in his tone. Jethro stopped dead in his tracks. He looked at me, fear and anxiety on his face now. He looked at Shade, his fear turning to fury again.

"You did this to her!" He shouted. Stepping forward again. Shade smiled and clicked his fingers. It all happened so fast then. Thomas got hold of my arms and held them behind my back, and Lola grabbed and hand-full of my hair and wrenched my head to the side. She took too much pleasure in doing so, I'd always know she'd hated me.

"Hey what's going on!" Jasper demanded as Draco shoved him and Celeste away from me.

"Draco! What's going on!" Celeste demanded, trying to push past him to me. But he wouldn't let them. Draco was way too strong. Jasper tried to take on Draco to get to me, but Draco grabbed him and slammed him to the ground, bringing Celeste down with him. He held both of them there.

"Shade! What are you doing? Let her go!" Jasper demanded, he looked hurt. Draco had hurt him when he'd thrown him to the ground. I struggled against Thomas, but I was no match for his supernatural strength.

"Shh, sweetie." Lola teased, "You wouldn't want anything to happen to Jasper would, you?" She was enjoying this way too much.

"The other's should be here in a moment." Shade said and looked towards the trees on his left.

"The _others_?" Celeste repeated, confused and scared. There was a sudden gust of wind and suddenly we weren't alone anymore. I followed Shade's gaze. There were two people I noticed first. Obvious leaders. One stood tall, about six feet, he had long black hair, stray strands hanging over his face, and he wore a pair of jeans but no shoes or shirt. His eyes glowing amber. And his muscles bulging. The one next to him was small, about average size for a human nineteen year old. His eyes were a solid silvery colour, he was slim and only had a bit of muscle. He looked nothing compared to the werewolf stood next to him. There were two stood behind the vampire, two females. Both beautiful, but both very deadly. One had a gush of bright purple hair and the other had the same fiery red hair as Celeste. Both had the same silver coloured eyes as their leader. There were three behind the werewolf. Each had amber eyes, was very tall and had a lot of muscle. Each had short black hair, cut to the same length but styled differently. They nearly looked the same except for their facial features and different coloured jeans. I looked at Jethro. He'd frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at our new visitors.

The vampire came forward first and stood, looking down on me a smile on his face. "May I taste first?" the question was directed at the werewolf but he looked at Shade.

"No!" Jethro shouted, running forward. The vampire's two girls, flitted forward and pushed him down on to his knees and each one held a should, keeping him there.

"Be my guest." The werewolf said, "Just don't kill her." I looked at the vampire and watched his irises turn blood red, he opened his mouth and I saw the razor sharp daggers that were about to pierce my skin. His head moved closer to my neck and I stood frozen, Thomas's grip still as strong as ever on my wrists. Jethro was pleading for him to stop. I could feel the vampire's cold breath on my neck as he moved in for the kill. I closed my eyes and braced myself. I was suddenly aware of the absence of the breath on my neck, maybe he'd already bitten. But there was no pain. There was nothing but the wind brushing against me. I heard the sound of snapping and growling and ripping. My eyes flew open. I saw the vampire on the floor, looking up into the furious eyes of Aiden. Aiden towered over him, a low growl escaping his chest.

"Aiden. I told you not to get in the way. It'll be such a shame to lose you" Shade sighed sadly and clicked his fingers again, Lola got a hold of him digging her incredibly sharp nails into his shoulder, he cried out in pain and fell to his knees. I saw blood on his shirt. Shade made his way over to Aiden and knelt on one knee in front of him and put one curled finger under Aiden's chin to lift his head so he could see his eyes. "Tell me Aiden, did you do I for your brother's sake? Or did you do it for the girl?" Shade asked, gesturing towards Jethro first and then toward me. Aiden and Jethro were brothers? Now I looked at them closely, they did have a certain resemblance. Aiden just snarled viciously at Shade and snapped his teeth together. Shade sighed and clicked his fingers twice. Lola bent down toward his neck, I couldn't see her face but I saw Aiden wince and then his face was contorted with pain. I couldn't bare to see him like this. No matter how bad he'd been to me.

"No! Don't! Stop it Shade! Lola get away from him!" I screamed as loud as I could, my sudden high-pitched scream was too loud for Thomas's sensitive ears and he let go of me to cover them. I ran at Lola, I didn't care that she was ten times stronger than me, I just wanted to protect Aiden. I grabbed a hand-full of her hair and wrenched it backwards. Her fangs came free from Aiden's throat and she spun to stare at me. Aiden's blood still all over her fangs and lips and her eyes now gleaming red. She bared her teeth and hissed at me. I fell to my knees beside Aiden, he was leant over, clutching his neck.

"Aiden, are you ok?" I asked urgently.

"I think I'll live – for now." He tried to smile at me, but he was in so much pain. Lola suddenly grabbed my hair again, dragging me up from the ground next to Aiden and throwing me backwards.

Then everything happened simultaneously. Lola was on the ground, screaming. Everyone was covering their ears as a huge howl rang through the night. I saw the werewolves move back quite a bit. The vampire female ran toward the werewolves for protection. Draco let go of Celeste and Jasper and tried to find Shade. The whole earth was shaking, or maybe it was just me, I couldn't tell. All I knew was that everyone was panicking. Everyone was scrambling about, their eyes shut and eyes covered. I saw a few blurs as I blacked out. When I awoke I was moving. I was in someone's arms and they were running at an incredible speed. I looked up to see Jethro holding me. It confirmed my worst fear, he was taking me back to the humans. I'm glad I was away from Shade but I'd left Jasper behind. The wind rushing past me made me feel sleepy again. And I drifted away into a nightmare where I was pulled away from Jasper and I was watching Jethro kill him.

I awoke in a strange room. The light was so bright that I was almost blinded. I sat up and looked around. I was in a white room. A bedroom. I was laying on a huge king-size bed. It had a black satin bedspread on it. I looked around, there was a huge plasma screen TV mounted on the wall. And a rack of DVDs, CDs and games. There was a open door next to the window, it led to a huge closet. A walk in closet. There was a pile of clothes on the end of the bed. There was a pink T-shirt and jeans. I didn't like pink. But it'd have to do. I suddenly realised I was naked. I felt very self-conscious. I picked up the pile and saw some underwear underneath it. And a small card with small and incredibly neat writing, it read:

Only spare clothes I had. Sorry.

Trixie

Trixie? Who was Trixie? And where was I? I picked up the underwear. Hot pink lingerie. Yeah, she better start apologizing when I see her. Pink. Ugh. I hated pink so much. I put on the clothes and the black converse that were on the floor by the bed and headed for the door. But before I could reach it, it flew open. In the doorway stood a girl, she looked about sixteen. She had lovely short blonde hair and the most peculiar lilac eyes. She was a vampire for sure; her pale skin, beauty and eyes gave that away straight away. I was the same height as her, but for a vampire she looked so fragile, so cute and feminine. I recognized the family resemblance straight away; she was related to Jethro and Aiden.

"Hi!" She squeaked with joy dancing over and hugging me. I was stunned; no vampire had ever had that reaction with me before. "I'm Trixie! I'm Jethro's sister, I've heard so much about you!" She let go of me and had a look at what I was wearing. She smiled apologetically, "Sorry, I know pink it's exactly your colour, but I didn't have anything else I could let you borrow. Me and you will go shopping and buy you loads of new clothes and makeup and stuff this weekend, sound good?"

She was bouncing up and down with excitement. She was such a happy person; it was hard not to smile around her.

"Um…Yeah, sure." I agreed, I wasn't really sure what was happening, but she seemed nice enough and she seemed to want to be my friend. But I couldn't help noticing the boy stood in the doorway. He was just as beautiful as every other vampire. But it still shocked me to see the contrast of black against their incredibly pale skin. A gothic vampire. How original I thought. He had the same colour eyes as Trixie, the same light purple glowing colour and long brown hair that almost touched his shoulders. He was leaning against the doorframe, shaking his head in disapproval but with a slight smirk on his face. Trixie followed my gaze.

"Oh and this is Marcus! My boyfriend." She introduced us. I gave a little wave and he nodded once. "Jethro's coming up, we'll leave you two alone." She winked and skipped to Marcus's side, she took his hand and led him out of sight. Jethro was by the bedroom door in seconds.

"May I come in?" he asked. I nodded trying to make sense of everything that had happened. He sat down next to me on the bed. "So you still believe I want to kill you?" he asked, looking sadly out of the window. I nodded again. He sighed and then took my face in his hands, I felt my eyes widen in fear, he stroked my cheek gently with his thumb, it was supposed to be soothing, but my heart was racing. I didn't know if this was a good or a bad thing. "Don't be afraid of me." He said soothingly, "I love you. And as soon as I kiss you those memories will come back. Just you wait."

His head moved closer to mine, his sweet breath confusing me, making me dizzy. But his breath, cold against my lips. And then he closed the gap keeping our lips apart and the memories flooded back to me. The car crash. My mum. Connor. Moving over here with my dad. School. Courtney and her friends. Seeing Jethro for the first time. Meeting Aiden. Loving Aiden. The night Jethro confessed he loved me. All my days with Jethro. Loving him. Camping. Our First kiss. Connor and Jethro meeting for the first time. Being lured by Shade into the forest. The small bottle. The pink liquid. The dizziness. It was all there. Everything I'd forgotten I'd just got back. I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. The way I'd acted in the forest when he'd found me was inexcusable. The hurt I saw in his eyes. I would never do that to him again. I sighed and stared into his aquamarine eyes, "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Shh. It wasn't your fault. Shh." He said comfortingly, hugging me tightly against him.

"Is she ok?" The familiar voice drifted over from the doorway. I glanced over quickly, wanting to see his face. Jasper stood in the doorway. Worry plain on his face.

"She's fine." Jethro replied. It was strange how calm they were around each other now. I remembered in the forest when I'd ran between them to stop them fighting. The bloodcurdling snarl that had ripped out of Jasper still made me shiver. The sound of an angry rogue. How could the rogues have stood to be around me when I smelt so delicious? How could they have been around me and let me live? I saw a something bright red behind Jasper, realising it was Celeste's hair. Celeste was here too? They shouldn't be. They should be back with the other rogues, where they belonged. But I didn't want them to leave; it would be like a part of me left. Celeste and I were such good friends now. And Jasper? Yes that was a good question. What was I going to do about Jasper? I loved Jethro. I loved Jasper, but only as a friend.

"It's ok, Ella." He said, seeing the worry plain on my face, "me and Celeste are together. Jethro has no competition with me anymore." He smiled.

"Like I had any competition anyway," Jethro muttered under his breath. Jasper chuckled and then was gone with Celeste. Then I met Jethro's gaze again. His aquamarine burning with such intensity and I nearly fainted. I saw longing there. But I couldn't quite figure out what for. I would help in anyway possible. Fulfil any need. No matter what. There was no hunger so he wasn't longing for my blood. I stopped myself shuddering at the last thought. He pulled me closer again, his arms wrapped tighter around my waist. I placed my hands gently on his shoulders, gazing into his eyes, searching. Searching for what he wanted, what he needed. But I found nothing. He was disguising it well. "I've missed you so much. I thought I'd lost you when I couldn't sense your mind anymore." There was a touch of pain behind the longing now. I watched him carefully. I brushed my hand gently against his cheek, trying to will the pain away. He sighed and closed his eyes at my touch.

"Why were you still looking for me?" I whispered, realizing that if he'd thought I was dead, he should've just left me. His eyes flashed up to mine again, the pain more vivid now.

"I refused to give up. I refused to leave you missing." He answered, closing his eyes again as I stroked his cheek. His muscles relaxed slightly as my fingertips traced the line of his jaw.

"But why?" My voice still a whisper. I rested my head against his chest, I couldn't hear a heartbeat then I remember why as I pressed harder into his cold chest. He took in a deep breath and sighed.

"Despite all the evidence, I refused to believe you were dead. If someone told me you were dead I would have to see it to believe it. But in my mind – no – in my heart I knew you had to be alive. You just had to be. And so I came looking for you." He pushed me back to look at me again, "And this time, my heart was right. Even if it doesn't beat, it will always be yours to treasure." And then his lips met mine again, more urgent and powerful than ever before. His lips moved down to my neck, I froze. Maybe he was thirsty after all. He'd felt my muscles tense. "Trust me." He breathed against my neck and then continued to kiss. I felt cold, gentle hands pushing me back to lay down on the bed, I didn't resist them and just obediently followed what they wanted me to do. When I opened my eyes to see where they'd led me I found myself laying on the bed, Jethro on top of me. He balanced himself evenly on his arms so I couldn't feel any of his weight. This was definitely past the physical relationship limitations; I started to wonder if this was a dream. Jethro wouldn't risk anything like this. Or was I dead and in heaven? Yes, this had to be heaven, it felt too good to be anything that could be on earth. Jethro definitely wouldn't have done this if I was alive, he'd make up some excuse that it was too much of a risk to be this close. Why was I wasting time thinking about it when I could be enjoying it? With the last thought I closed my eyes and enjoyed the rest of heaven.

My eyes fluttered open. I looked at the clock on the bedside table. 7:18pm it read. I suddenly felt very exposed and very cold. I looked down at the satin quilt of the bed draped over my naked body. I twisted slightly to see Jethro lying on his back, hands behind his head, staring at the ceiling. His face a calm mask, hiding all expressions. I realised that he was naked too, suddenly this was all too real. But for some strange reason, I didn't care. I was in such a good mood, nothing could bring me down. The silk cover only on the lower half of his body. I twisted my body around and leant my head against his cold, hard chest and traced my fingers along his perfect stomach.

"Am I in trouble?" I whispered. I tilted my head up, carefully watching his expression.

"Yes." Was all he said, in a toneless voice that was somehow like it was detached from his body. His calm mask still there, hiding everything that he felt from me. I was still smiling, my mood hadn't dropped one bit.

"Why?" I whispered, looking back to my fingers that were still running over his smooth perfect stomach.

"You could've stopped me."

"I didn't want to."

"I could've hurt you."

"I was willing to take the risk," I shrugged, looking up at his face again. His mask slipped, but only for a second then he managed to compose his features again. I could've sworn I saw a hint of pain in his eyes, but I couldn't be sure.

"I could've killed you." This time it was only a whisper that escaped from his lips.

"But you didn't."

"I'm not as in control as you think."

"But you apparently are."

"Well we aren't taking that risk again. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm so sorry."

"Don't be." It fell into silence after that. Jethro removed his arm from behind his head and placed his hand gently on my shoulder.

"I suppose we better get up." Jethro said, after a long moment of enjoying each other's company. I nodded. I threw the covers back and got up. I searched the floor for my clothes, but didn't find them. I turned back around, only to see Jethro already dressed and sat on the bed watching me with a slight smile.

"What have you done with my clothes?" I demanded, feeling very exposed. Without thinking my arm flew up to cover my chest.

"Don't you remember?" His smile widening slightly. I tried to think back, but all I could think of was Jethro and me together. I shut my eyes and concentrated. I saw my shirt hung on the end of the bed along with my pants, but where the hell was my underwear? They were supposed to be with my other clothes. Jethro pointed to the corner of the room, just left of the bed and there they were. I collected my clothes quickly and got dressed. I walked over to the dressing table, picked up the hairbrush and went through my hair a few times. I looked ok when I looked in the mirror, but still nothing much to look at. I looked up at Jethro, beauty radiating from him. How could he like someone like me? With all the beautiful vampire girls and even some beautiful human girls he was constantly around, why had he gone for me?

"Are we ready to go downstairs?" He asked, breaking my chain of thought. When there was no response he added, "The others are waiting."

My eyes widened slightly, "There's more people here?"

"Yes, now come on, you'll be fine. You look great by the way"

I rolled my eyes, no I didn't. Not with this god-like creature stood next to me. He'd led me out the door before I even realised we were moving. I paused at the bottom of the stairs. There were a lot of people here. Not as many as I'd thought. There were nine all together. Jasper and Celeste sat on the couch, Jasper had his arm around Celeste and they were both watching the huge plasma screen TV on the wall with little interest. In the arm chair opposite the couch sat a boy, another vampire. With longish blonde hair and there was a girl sat on his lap she had long chocolate brown hair and wore a very short skirt and a revealing top. Then there was a girl, sat on her own in the corner, listening to her MP3 player with her eyes closed. I knew she was a vampire by the paleness of her skin. She had short black hair with a fringe that hid half of her face. She wore black jeans and a black 'My Chemical Romance' top with red and black striped arm warmers and black converse. She had black eye liner on and a spiked choker. I liked her style. I remembered when I used to dress like that, when I lived with my mom. But my dad refused to let me wear clothes like that anymore. I had to wear normal or girly clothes. I hated wearing them. I saw the last two people in the room, they had been waiting for us and now stepped forward. The man was average height and very beautiful, he looked only about twenty years old. He had short black hair and wore a very light grey suit. His arm was linked with the woman at his side. She was a little shorter than him but just as beautiful. She had long, flowing brown hair and wore a long black gown; it was so long that it trailed along the ground behind her; she had a heart–shaped face. Her vivid violet eyes friendly – almost motherly. Her smile was also friendly. They looked at Jethro expectantly.

"Oh." He looked at me, "Ella, these are my parents. My father Sebastian and my mother Felicia." They smiled at me.

I'd been stunned by the word parents. These people were too young to be his parents. But Jethro continued, ignoring my disbelief. "And these are my siblings, Stefan, my older brother." He pointed to the boy in the armchair, "Ivy, my soon-to-be sister-in-law" He pointed to the girl on Stefan's knee. "Then there's Tabitha." He pointed to the girl in the corner, "She's taken to the recent style of 'Emo'" I looked at him in anger this time, the way he'd said it, like it was something bad. I am Emo! I thought angrily. I decided that this was not the right time to bring it up; I'd wait until later. "And you already know Trixie, my little sister, with her boyfriend Marcus. And my twin brother Aiden." Twin! I hadn't seen the resemblance before I'd heard they were brothers. But now I thought about it, it made sense.

"We are obviously a lot older than we look." Sebastian said. His voice almost musical in its beauty. This was going to take some getting used to. Being the only human in the house.

"_A lot_ older." I heard another boy say. I looked over to see Stefan grinning at me. His smile so brilliant but so mischievous that didn't know what to think. "Tell her how old you are dad."

Sebastian sighed and looked at his son, "Now isn't the best time, son." He said calmly.

"What could it hurt? Come on, amaze her." Stefan smiled again.

"Two-thousand seven-hundred and sixty-four" Sebastian sighed.

I just stared, unable to grasp this simple fact that I already saw coming. Stefan continued after his father was finished, "Felicia's one-thousand nine-hundred and eighty-six. I'm nine three four. Tabitha's nine two three. Ivy's nine ten. Aiden and Jethro are eight nine three. Trixie is six two nine and Marcus is seventy-three."

I tried to memorise this as he went through in order of age. Sebastian: 2764, Felicia: 1986, Stefan: 934, Tabitha 923, Ivy: 910, Jethro and Aiden: 893, Trixie: 629 and Marcus: 73. I could never remember all that. I looked at Jethro, my eight hundred and ninety three year old boyfriend. Not that I bothered about the age gap, but I wish he'd have told me.

"I know it's a lot to take in, sweetheart." Felicia said, "We'll try and make it as easy as possible for you." She stepped forward and hugged me gently. He cold arms soothing, Jethro smiled at me.

"Thank you, Felicia." I said, letting go of Jethro's hand, so I could hug her back.

"Just call her mom if you want." Jethro whispered. "You'll be part of the family soon anyway."

"Jethro don't force her." Felicia warned.

"No, it's ok, mom." I said shyly. Felicia looked at me, her eyes sparkling just at the fact I'd called her mum.

"Welcome to the family, Ella." She whispered in my ear as she pulled me back in for another hug. It felt good to hear that, but I was just scared of what that meant. "Are you hungry, dear?" She asked, letting go of me. I suddenly was aware of the emptiness in my stomach, it growled for attention. Felicia just smiled and disappeared quickly into the kitchen. Jethro led me into the living room. He sat in the spare armchair and pulled me onto his lap. Trixie and Marcus joined us, Marcus sat on the spare seat on the couch and Trixie sat on the floor in front of him, resting her head on his knees. Their attention also focused on the Tv.

"Could you two have been any louder up there?" Stefan smirked at Jethro. Jethro glared at him. Stefan ignored him, "Have fun?" this question was directed at me, I nodded slightly and pressed harder against Jethro's chest for reassurance. Jethro continued to glare. "About time you lost it, Jethro. Forget forty-year-old virgin. You were the eight hundred and ninety three-year-old virgin." Stefan lips twitched as he restrained laughter. I heard Marcus chuckle and Trixie was giggling to herself. Jethro took a deep breath and composed himself.

"Better late than never." He said calmly.

The conversation ended when Felicia brought in a plate of spaghetti for me. I started eating it as soon as it was put in front of me.

"Is that ok for you, Hun? Not too spicy?" Felicia asked.

"Yeah, I think you've had enough spice for one day." Stefan smirked. I glared at him and then turned to Felicia.

"No – It's great, thank you." I replied, shoving another forkful into my mouth. I wasn't lying; it was the best tasting spaghetti I'd ever had – and I'd had some good tasting spaghetti in my time.

As soon as I was finished the plate was out of my hand in a flash. After a good meal I felt tired again. But I refused to go to bed. I wanted to know more about my new family.

There was a faint knock at the door, barely audible over the blare of the TV. Trixie was on her feet and to the door instantly. Jethro didn't move, or even look. He could see the minds of who it was. His fists clenched and I saw everyone in the room look at him with panicked expression, except Sebastian, Felicia and Marcus who were still very calm. Trixie opened the door.

"Hi Connor!" She chimed, in her musical voice. She stepped aside to let him pass. Trixie walked back over to us at human pace. "We have a full house tonight." She whispered to Marcus as she sat down at his feet again. Marcus didn't seem the slightest bit worried. His expression calm, but resigned. He wanted nothing to do with this. Jethro started to get up; I slid quickly off his lap to let him up. We walked toward the entrance hall where the stairs were. As soon as I entered I saw that Connor was not alone. He was followed closely by a terrified Emily, and another girl with long curly blonde hair, light blue eyes and a dusting of freckles who had a confused look on her face as she stood in the huge entrance hall, it was Chrissie, an excited looking Courtney who was smiling openly at finally getting into Jethro's house she was closely followed by Jane, Jessica, Kimberly and Elizabeth. And last of all was Zoey. Zoey was Connor's little sister, she had the same shade of hair as Connor and she had the same glowing amber eyes like all werewolves.

"Ella!" Chrissie almost screamed, running over to give me a hug, ignoring Jethro completely. I hugged her back more tightly than ever. Tears were in both our eyes now. "I've missed you so much." She sobbed.

"I missed you too!"

Connor was glaring at Jethro by my side and holding Emily close. Courtney was whispering to Elizabeth and the other three were listening in too. Jane, Jessica and Kimberly giggled but Elizabeth's expression didn't change. Emily was staring at me; she was shaking and her arms were locked tight around Connor for protection. She knew what new my family were, she knew the danger and yet she was scared for _me_? The most comfortable human here, and she were scared for me? I smiled politely but she just cuddled closer to Connor with fear. Then I thought of something. _Was_ she scared for me? Or was she scared for Chrissie? I saw her eyes darting back and forth from me and Chrissie hugging to Jethro and back again. She was scared for both of us. She was watching for a sign that Jethro was going to attack. I felt a flood of anger run through me. Jethro was the most controlled vampire I'd seen so far, how dare she jump to conclusions before she's even met him. I saw Jethro meet her gaze, her eyes widened slightly. He just laughed silently.

Chrissie let go and looked at Jethro like she hadn't noticed his presence until just now.

"Um…Chrissie, this is my boyfriend, Jethro." I said nervously. To my surprise Chrissie smiled up at him.

"Hi Jethro." She said, throwing her arms around him also. I smiled, same old Chrissie. Jethro chuckled slightly.

"Hello Chrissie."

I glanced over at Emily who was just as frightened as ever. She really didn't like Chrissie so close to Jethro. I glared at her; she seemed startled by my expression. But her eyes darted back to Jethro.

We all were gathered in the huge living room. Courtney sat next to Marcus on the couch and next to her was Connor with Emily sat on his knee leaning against his chest. Celeste sat on the arm of the couch on Marcus' side. Trixie still sat at his feet. Jethro and me sat in the armchair we had done before, Jasper stood next to our chair. Chrissie sat at Jethro's feet, like Trixie was with Marcus. She leant her head back and rested then on Jethro's knees, totally at ease. I was glad she was so comfortable here, if only she knew what these creatures around her were. Sebastian and Felicia stood in the centre of the living room, with everyone was facing them. Stefan and Ivy sat in the same chair they had been in before. Stefan looked completely calm but Ivy seemed anxious. Courtney's friends stood behind the couch, behind Connor. Aiden stood behind our chair. Zoey stood away from us all, standing propped again the wall. The closest to her was Tabitha who was still sat in her corner, she hadn't moved an inch, it looked like she was unaware of her surrounding, and she was just sat listening to her music as usual.

Courtney was mumbling to her friends, Connor was reassuring Emily that everything was ok. Stefan was exchanging glances with Marcus; they were both smirking. Jethro sighed, holding back anger. Stefan and Marcus must be thinking something bad to make him react like that. Aiden tapped Jasper's shoulder and whispered something in his ear; Jasper just shook his head.

"Quiet please." Sebastian said, I was surprised when everyone silenced suddenly and turned to him. "What brings you here Connor?" he turned to Connor.

"I hate to say this, Sebastian." He said, "But we need your help." Connor glanced at me and then looked back at Sebastian. Jethro's arms tightened around me.

"With what?"

"Francis has teamed up with two vampire covens, Shade's and Tyrone's. We can't take them all on alone. We need your help to defeat them."

"But why are they a threat?" Sebastian looked puzzled.

"They're after Helena. And there is more reason behind it than just revenge. Francis plans to wipe out the entire vampire race and become the lycans ruler."

"But what has Helena got to do with any of this?" Just as Sebastian said it, Jethro hugged me tighter. Something bad had to be coming.

"I thought at first it was just revenge for her escaping him. But I never thought of the reasoning behind him going after her in the first place. It turns out that he thinks Helena is a descendant of Tereza, a very powerful vampire. It has been told that anyone to drink the blood of a descendant gains the power and immortality of Tereza. Combine that with lycan strength and he'll be unstoppable." The room was silent a few minutes after Connor had explained and they all stared at him, then all eyes turned on me. I felt uncomfortable as the centre of attention. Not even Stefan was smiling now.

"She does look a lot like Tereza." Trixie said, turning her eyes on Sebastian. "What if she _is_ a descendant?"

Sebastian thought for a second. Then he glanced, from me, to Jethro to Connor and then looked back to Trixie. "Well then we must protect her. Descendant or not, she's family now." He announced. Connor flinched slightly at the last part. "So who have we got on our side?" Sebastian asked, turning back to Connor now.

"My pack, the shapeshifters behind me and your family."

Shapeshifter? I looked at Courtney and the others. I should've realised then was something wrong it when they all had the same shade amber eyes as each other, it was a couple of shades darker than werewolves amber eyes.

"Shapeshifters?" Stefan raised an eyebrow, "So you can turn into anything?"

Courtney nodded smiling.

"Prove it." Stefan smiled. Courtney's smile widened, ripples went down her arms and then through her whole body and her face and body morphed. Stefan was stood where Courtney had been. I looked back over at the armchair, Stefan was sat there, jaw hanging open in shock. Courtney had morphed into Stefan.

"Happy now?" She said in his voice. And she morphed back to herself.

"You're good." Was all Stefan said and smiled. Courtney smiled back, she loved having admirers. Ivy shot an angry glance at Courtney, Courtney smirked. I saw her chest expand slightly. I shook my head.

"I think it's best that we train and get to know one another's abilities." Sebastian cut in. All attention focused back on him.

"Yes, tomorrow night." Connor agreed. "I'll bring the whole pack."

"Ok, tomorrow night, outside here." Sebastian shook hands with Connor. "You are welcome to stay here for tonight if you like." He offered.

"No thanks." Connor replied quickly. "I have to get back to the pack. They're waiting outside. We have some hunting to do."

"Very well." Sebastian nodded. Connor got up, pulling Emily up with him and setting her on her feet. Zoey pushed away from the wall and walked towards them, she looked at me, her expression hard and then took Connor's free hand.

"May we stay?" Courtney asked Sebastian, but her gaze wandering back to Stefan.

"Of course."

"Thank you."

"The spare room is up the stairs, last door on the left."

With that Courtney made her way up stairs, closely followed by Jane, Jessica and Kimberly. Courtney smiled and waved slightly at Stefan as she climbed the stairs. Elizabeth gave Jasper a long hard look and then disappeared with the rest of them. Once Courtney was out of sight, Stefan sat back in his chair and relaxed.

"I wouldn't, Stefan. Ivy would be very upset." Jethro smirked. Ivy looked at Stefan in disbelief and was suddenly gone from his lap, I heard a door slam upstairs.

"I wasn't even thinking that!" Stefan protested, Jethro just smiled, "Oh, I hate you little brother!" Stefan was up and gone before I'd had chance to work out what just happened. It hit me as Jethro stroked my cheek.

"Jethro!"

"What?" he said with sarcasm in his voice and an innocent smile on his face.

"That was horrible!" I protested, "You shouldn't do things like that to your brother!"

"He's just as nasty to me."

"Two wrongs don't make a right."

"But revenge is sweet."

"Treat people the way you want to be treated."

"Ah, but he treats me like that so that's how he must want to be treated." He smiled when he saw me struggle. He'd just countered the phrases my mom had told me. I wish I'd have thought of them when she was lecturing me. Jethro suddenly took me in his arms and stood up, he was moving very fast for what I was used to.

"Where are we going?" I gasped. But we'd stopped before I'd finished the question; we were stood in the bedroom again. He set me down gently on the bed and threw me a nightgown that was on the desk. I held it up in front of me and examined it; it was frilly, lacy and too revealing for my liking. And to top it all off, it was hot pink. Jethro took in my expression.

"Its all Trixie had." He said, sitting next to me on the bed. I shrugged and quickly changed into it. I looked down, it was mostly see through. I sighed.

"Nice." Jethro smiled.

"You would think so." I rolled my eyes. He chuckled and put his arm around me. I turned around and pushed gently against his shoulders, even though he was stronger than me he didn't resist and laid down, I crawled on top of him. He looked stunned. I'd never done anything like this before. I bent me head down and touched my lips to his. Our lips were moving together now. He was allowing this much, I might as well see how far I can push him, I thought with a smile. I kissed him harder and knotted my fingers in his silky hair. He didn't push me away, I felt the icy coolness of his hands on my waist. I opened my eyes slightly, his eyes were closed. Yes, this was my chance. I pressed myself closer to him. His arms wrapped all the way around my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck. We rolled over. He was on top of me now; he was perfectly balanced on top of me so I felt none of his weight. I released my grip around his neck as we kissed and let my hands slowly slide over his shoulders to his neck. He was really getting into it now. I felt dizzy with pleasure as his lips left mine and travelled down my neck. I slid my hands down more, searching frantically for the top button of his shirt before I let the dizziness overwhelm me. I found it and undid it quickly, moving down the buttons as fast as possible. He didn't seem to care, I pushed his shirt back and he helped by shrugging out of it. I threw it on the floor. He continued kissing my neck. I ran my hands over his perfect chest and stomach once. My fingers started tingling as my hands moved slowly downwards to the button of his jeans. I started to grip hold of him like I never wanted to lose him. I started unbuttoning them quickly. My heart started racing and suddenly all the coldness of his body was gone. I had to check that he was still there; I reached out and gently caressed his face. His skin became ice cold again against my touch. His kisses started to move down my neck and down my chest, I was suddenly aware my breathing was coming up faster now. He stopped just above my waist. His lips moved back up to mine, then he pulled back for a brief second. His aquamarine eyes looked cloudy and distant, like he was in a trance. His cold lips pressed back to mine and I felt his cold hands reach for the lace bow holding my nightgown together. Part of me was scared, the trance-like state he was in was wrong. I'd never seen him like this before. But the other part of me was shouting, _don't bother, this is what I want, don't push him away_! I couldn't decide which would be the best option. On one hand I could push him away, find out what was wrong with him, save myself from his lectures about safety when I woke up. But on the other hand, it was very rare he let me get this close to him and it surprised me that _he_ wanted to go further, surely I could risk this once. His safety over my selfishness or the other way around? I didn't know, I was starting to feel dizzy now as his tongue traced along my bottom lip. I opened my eyes slightly, his eyes were shut again and he seemed to be enjoying this. He was still moving in a trance-like state. This definitely wasn't like him. I felt him untie the bow and slide my nightgown open. He laid back down on top of my and continued kissing me. The sudden impact of skin-to-skin contact was amazing. The coldness of his body against my warm body. I had to suppress a gasp. Then I felt something strange, something in the way he was kissing me. More fierce and urgent than usual, but there was something else, something in the way it felt. I winced as something sharp caught my bottom lip, I felt the warm liquid well up. _Uh oh_, I thought. My eyes flew open and I looked at Jethro. His eyes were open, his eyes blood red and his fangs showing. But a soft smile on his lips, his eyes warm and tender. He bent his head down again and ran his tongue along where the cut was, tasting the blood. I looked at him again, what I saw should have scared me but it just excited me more. "I love you." I whispered.

"I love you too." He whispered back, his eyes intense. Our lips touched again, but only for a second. A sudden bright light startled us both. Jethro's eyes suddenly focused and realisation hit. I glanced over at the source of the light. Aiden stood in the doorway, the door wide open and light from the hallway streaming into the room. My hands flew to my nightgown and pulled it together to cover my bare chest. I felt my warmth rush to my cheeks. Jethro's eyes flickered to Aiden and then back to me.

Jethro nodded. Aiden glanced at me once and then left the room. Closing the door and cutting off the blindingly bright light. Jethro looked at me for a long moment, then sighed and collapsed on the bed next to me.

"Why do you do this to me?"

_What did I do?_ I thought. _Did I do something wrong?_ "Why do I do what?" I asked, only just managing a whisper.

"Continually tempt me." He sighed again, rolling over to face me. "As I've said before I'm not as in control as you think."

"But last time…" I started to protest but he raised a hand to silence me.

"Look, Ella, we might not be as lucky as we were last time. I barely managed to keep my self control."

I wasn't in the mood for arguing now; I was tired after all the excitement. I yawned and lay back down and curled up into a ball to keep myself warm. Before I knew it my head was resting on the soft pillow and I was wrapped up nice and snug in the thick silky quilt. Jethro's arms already around me; cradling me against him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." He whispered and kissed my neck gently.

"It's ok." I mumbled sleepily pressing me back against his cold body. It was such a warm night his cold skin helped a lot. I sighed happily. Jethro chuckled and tightened his grip slightly. I relaxed and was soon asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The night air was hot and humid. I watched the werewolves gather on the opposite side of the clearing, Emily clinging to Connor's side tight. Zoey was sat by herself a few feet away. Wayne was giving orders to the pack. Connor took his positions, as did the others. The vampires around me were much more casual, Trixie and Marcus stood by the tree, hand in hand. Stefan was talking to Courtney who was stood with the other shapeshifters. Ivy was glaring at them with such force it could have burned a hole right through Stefan's head. Felicia was stood by Aiden; she was rubbing his back comfortingly and glancing over at me every now and then. Jethro and Sebastian stood in front of them all, they seemed to be discussing something very important, Jethro's brow creased with worry. Sebastian stepped towards where the werewolves were waiting.

"We are ready when you are." He announced. The werewolves sent their first wolf forward. A scrawny looking wolf, with tatty red fur. Marcus sighed and walked forward, meeting the wolf half way. Trixie watched, with not the least bit of concern on her face. Either she was very confident in him or didn't care. The wolf looked Marcus over once and took a step back and lazily crouched. Marcus looked puzzled for a moment and then took a defensive position. The wolf sprung and it was over in seconds. Marcus pinned him to the floor and the fight was over. The wolf limped away and another brawnier looking wolf replaced him. Marcus rejoined Trixie by the tree and kissed her gently on the cheek. Trixie skipped forward at a pace that seemed too slow for her. She stood with her hands behind her back, smiling up and the huge wolf that loomed over her. The wolf let out a barking laugh. He crouched and got ready to pounce. Trixie didn't move at all, she continued to smile at the wolf. The wolf sprung, it huge paws about the land on Trixie's cute little head. The wolf made contact with the ground and landed off balance. Trixie was suddenly behind it and took it down. Marcus smirked and shook his head in awe. She pranced back over to him and took his hand once more. The fights carried on like this, the vampires won every time and the werewolves were starting to get annoyed. Finally Connor stepped forward in wolf form. Jethro met him in the middle of the clearing. They looked at each other for a long moment. Jethro mumbled something to Connor, obviously reading his thoughts. Connor glanced at Emily then at me then looked back at Jethro. Jethro took a step back and crouched ready to pounce, Connor did the same. A fierce snarl escaped Jethro's lips, Connor growled loudly in response. Then Connor pounced. I turned away quickly unable to watch. I heard a bark of frustration and my hands flew to my ears, I didn't want to hear this, I didn't want to see it. Eventually I heard a huge yelp and a shout of frustration that managed to get around my hands and into my ears. I hated the noise; I turned quickly to see Jethro and Connor on the ground, Connor managed to get up and pin Jethro down with his huge paws. The fight was over; Connor had won, but only just.

"That was a refreshing exercise." Sebastian said stepping forward as Jethro and Connor returned to their corners. Sebastian was in front of Wayne as soon as I'd blinked. The rest of the werewolf pack stepped backwards, shocked at the immediate closeness of a natural enemy. Wayne didn't seem bothered by it at all.

"Thank you. We must set off now; we must find another living ancestor of Tereza before the end of this week. We shall see you soon." Wayne turned but Sebastian stopped him.

"Surely if we came with you the search would take half the time, we are willing to accompany you." Sebastian offered.

"Thank you, Sebastian. That would help us a lot. We leave at midnight." Then the wolves ran off into the forest.

"I want you to stay here for the week." Jethro said kissing my forehead gently. I clung onto him tightly, not wanting him to leave me alone here.

"But what about my dad, he'll be worried…" Jethro put his finger to my lips to silence me.

"Your father thinks you've gone on a shopping holiday with Trixie. You are safe for the week."

I sighed, not able to argue. Jethro lifted my chin up so I was looking up into his eyes. I kissed him passionately. I was going to miss him this week; the week was going to seem like hell. When he gently pushed me back, he looked into my eyes once then hugged me.

"I'll miss you," I whispered.

"I'll miss you too," he kissed me tenderly on the lips once then took my hand and we headed for the door. Downstairs everyone was ready. Connor kissed Emily tenderly on the lips. I had to look away. I looked back when I thought it was safe. They had parted and Emily was sat self-consciously on the couch.

"_She's_ not staying with me, is she?" I whispered, trying to make it quiet enough so that only Jethro heard. It didn't work I saw Connor roll his eyes and give me and shot and angry glance in my direction.

"Unfortunately." Was all Jethro said as we reached the bottom of the stairs. Sebastian turned to us, "You girls should be safe here, nobody knows of this house." He said, directing it at Emily and me. "But just in case here's the number you can contact me on if anything happens." With one swift movement Sebastian was holding a paper in front of me. I took it and put it in my pocket. He moved over to Emily to give her the number.

"Here." Jethro said, reaching into his pocket and bring out a phone, a very new model. "Take this, call me if anything happens. My number is already in it." He handed me the phone. I slipped it into my pocket and hugged him.

"Thank you, but it's only a week." I reminded him.

"Hopefully less than a week." He replied, tightening his arms around me comfortingly.

"Right, lets go." Wayne announced, picking up his backpack and slinging it onto his back casually. Jethro grabbed me and pressed his cold lips to mine and then suddenly he was gone and the house was empty all except Emily and me. _Great, just perfect,_ I thought bitterly, _Stuck with the little freak who thinks my boyfriend wants to hurt me_. I sighed and went and sat in the big armchair opposite her. I relaxed back and glanced at Emily. She was sat straight and alert, not wanting to relax.

"I'm sorry I haven't really spoke to you." Her voice startled me, it was so quiet but high-pitched. "I didn't mean to offend. It just feels weird being in the middle of all this."

I suddenly felt sympathy for her, remembering the first few weeks after Connor had showed me he was a werewolf. It was a nightmare.

"The vampires are the only things new to me." I said, trying to keep this conversation going.

I finally got her talking, apparently her and Connor never really kissed, all they did was talk and hug. Which made me happy that he hadn't touched his soulmate and yet he had me. I held back a smile as she told me.

"I'm off to bed." Emily yawned and stood up. "I'll take the spare room, I like it in there." She smiled, said goodnight then went to bed.

In Jethro's room I sat on the bed, playing with a bit of lace on my nightshirt until I felt sleepy. I placed the phone Jethro had given me on the bedside table. Wondering where Jethro was, is he ok? Is he going to call me? He probably wasn't I told myself, he's be far too busy to do that. Eventually I drifted off into a deep sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Two days passed smoothly, Emily and me bonding all the time. We'd heard nothing from Jethro or any of them.

"They must be real busy." Emily said quietly, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. I nodded, still feeling guilty for being angry with this fragile girl. She put her mug on the coffee table. The scary music started in the film. The killer was getting a knife out of the drawer. Emily hid behind a pillow.

"You're not scared, are you?" I asked, trying to hide my amusement. She nodded behind the pillow. I laughed.

"I'm going to get something to eat." I said, getting up from the chair. "Will you be ok while I'm gone?" I smiled. She nodded quickly, peeking at the TV over the pillow. I walked into the kitchen and over to the fridge. By looking inside at all the foods, I lost my appetite. I wasn't in the mood to eat; I was too worried about Jethro and others. I glanced over to where Emily was watching TV in the other room. I smirked. I crept up behind the couch; I gently reached my hands out, holding my breath so she didn't hear me. Her muscles tense with the suspense of the movie and the pillow pressed tight against her.

"Boo!" I yelled, grabbing her arms. She jumped and screamed, whirling around to face. I found myself doubled over with hysterics. Her face had gone pale white, her breathing quickened, her eyes wide with shock. Then it all faded and anger replaced it.

"Don't do that again!" she shouted, blushing with embarrassment and anger. Her fists clenched as she turned back around to face the TV. I wandered back into the kitchen, still laughing so hard that it hurt. Now I was hungry. I grabbed a packet of crisps from the shelf. And opened them, pouring them into a glass bowl for me and Emily to share. I looked out of the window; just as I did a dark blur shot passed it. I stepped back with shock. Dropping the bowl. It smashed sending crisps and sharp pieces glass everywhere.

"Helena?" Emily's voice drifted in from the other room, panic obvious. I couldn't move, I couldn't speak, and I was frozen to the spot where I stood. Terror bubbling up inside me, I wanted to scream, but my lips wouldn't move. I was stuck, staring out of the window. I heard Emily's gasp behind me as she saw the mess. "Helena?" she asked, hysteria rising in her voice. She shook me, "Helena?" She shook me harder. "Helena? Helena, please. Say something." Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"There was some…something…outside the win…window." I stuttered, my hand finding Emily's, she squeezed it comfortingly, although she herself was panicking.

"What was it?" She seemed to only be able to manage a whisper.

I shook my head, "I don't know." I whispered. I shook my head again clearing my thoughts. I turned to Emily, taking her hands in mine, "It was probably nothing, and I'm tired it was probably my eyes playing tricks on me. Don't worry about it. Go to bed, you look like you need some sleep, I'll clean this up." I said, looking into her eyes and gently wiping her tears away with my thumb.

"I'll help you." She said, looking at the mess on the floor, then back at me.

"No," I said, I kissed her forehead. "To bed." I said it softly but with authority. She glanced at the mess, then nodded in defeat and wandered off to bed.

I found a broom at the side of the fridge and started sweeping up the mess, glancing every now and then to see if something was there. But all I saw was the darkness. I had the strangest feeling of someone or something watching me. I looked around the kitchen, there was nothing there. I looked around the door to the living room, again there was nothing. Then I looked into the dining room, but still nothing. _You're getting paranoid_, I told myself, _calm down and finish sweeping up, there's no one else downstairs but you_. I shook my head to clear my mind, and carried on sweeping. Once I'd got rid of all the mess on the floor, I turned off all the lights downstairs and went up to Jethro's room. I collapsed on the bed, exhaustion taking over, but just as I was drifting off to sleep the feeling of someone watching me was back. I looked quickly around the dark room. There was nothing that I could see. But I still couldn't shake the feeling. I pulled the covers up over my head, pretending they offered some kind of protection. I heard a quiet bang, the kind of noise like if someone gently tapped a piece of wood, then silence. I squeezed my eyelids tight together, wishing for this thing, whatever it was, to go away. I then heard the rustling of paper being scattered and a gentle click. Then silence fell upon the room. The air so thick that it felt like it was crushing me. My eyes wide and staring under the covers as I listened. _Come on_, I told myself, _I have to look_. Slowly but carefully I pushed the covers back and stared around the room. Nothing. My chest was tight, as I continued to stare around the darkness, just waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. _Oh Jethro, I need you_, I wailed in my mind, hoping he could hear me but remembering that he no longer could. Then the thought came to me, _Jethro_!, _He left me a phone_! _I could call him_! I reached onto the bedside table, feeling around in the darkness for the phone. It wasn't there. I started to panic. I felt around for the piece of paper Sebastian had given me with the numbers on. It was also gone. I felt my breathing quicken as my hands spread helplessly in the dark searching for the phone. I reached across the bed and turned the lamp on that was on the other bedside table. Then I turned back. My bedside table was empty. My phone and the piece of paper were gone. _Oh God, where are they_? I searched frantically through the drawers underneath. They were my only ways of contacting them. I got out of bed, running over the computer desk, not there either, I checked in the drawers too. Nothing in the drawers. _Maybe yesterdays jeans pocket, I thought_, knowing I was wrong because I always kept it on the bedside table, but right now I didn't care I just hoped. I spun around about to run to where my jeans lay thrown across the bed but turned and hit something hard. I looked forward to see what I had hit. All I saw at first was blackness. It was moving. _Uh oh_, I thought as realisation hit. I looked up to see two bright amber eyes staring down at me. I gasped, stumbling backwards.

"Emily!" I shouted as loud as I could. "Emily, please! Help!" Hopefully my shouts would be loud enough to wake her up. Francis took a step towards me, his grin widening.

"Emily!" I screamed.

"Ella!" I heard Emily's frantic voice on the other side of the door. I heard the door handle rattle but the door didn't open. Francis held up the key for my bedroom door and dangled it in front of my nose. "Ella! What wrong! I can't get in!" Emily was shouting.

"Fran-" a hand was suddenly over my mouth and I was pressed back against Francis's chest.

"Let's not make this any harder, you don't want you friend to get hurt do you?" he whispered menacingly in my ear, "Tell her everything's fine."

"Ella!" She was still shouting.

"It's ok, Emily." I yelled back, my voice breaking at the end. "Just a branch outside my window, sorry, go back to bed."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

There was silence for a long moment as Emily considered what I said this I heard her quiet footsteps drift away down the hallway.

"Good girl." Francis whispered, his lips brushing my ears. "Now sleep." Suddenly I felt blackness close over me. The whole world drifted away. My knees buckled but Francis had hold of me.

My eyes seemed like they didn't want to open. But I managed eventually. I gasped met with a vision of bright white. The walls and the ceiling of the room were white; the floor was wood panelling. The desk and wardrobe were beach colour wood. The bed I was laying on had a white satin bedspread on it and transparent white lace curtains hanging from the roof and surrounding the circular bed. _Where am I_? I touched the lace curtain tentatively. I lifted the covers; I wasn't wearing any clothes. I rolled over to look out of the window. I gasped. I wasn't alone in this bed. Bright but confused amber eyes stared at me. _He's going to kill me_, I thought, my heartbeat quickening, _Oh Jethro help me_.

"Sleep well?" he asked, with a smile. I just stared, unable to most, hardly able to breath. This was it, I didn't get to say goodbye to Jethro. A shadowed line creased his brow when I didn't answer. "Something the matter?" He asked.

"You…you're going to…kill me." I managed to gasp out, badly needing air. The line smoothed and he laughed.

"Not yet, young one." He extended his arms as if he wanted a hug. I scooted away from him. He laughed again. "No need to be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you, young one."

_Psshh, yeah right_, I thought shuffling as far away from his as the bed allowed. Quick as a flash I was being pulled on top of him and embraced in what would've been a death grip if it hurt. It felt so wrong to be pressed against him this way, especially when we were both naked. I held back the shudder that wanted to creep down my spine.

"There we go, see," He chuckled, "I'm not that bad, better than hugging an ice cube." I glared at him.

He held me tight against his chest. I listened to his steady heartbeat and not once did the beat falter. I heard a high-pitched melody start playing. It was a very repetitive melody. Before I could do anything Francis had the phone pressed to his ear. _Oh my god that's my phone_, my thoughts screamed through me as I dove for the phone. Francis was too quick for me, and grabbed me and held me back with his hand over my mouth. I screamed beneath his hand, but it was barely audible.

"Ella? Ella!" Connor's voice was getting more frantic. "Ella, please talk! I have something to tell you!"

"If you value your life you will act like nothing has happened and everything is fine." Francis whispered in my ear. I nodded and he handed me the phone.

"Hello?" I said, almost whispering.

"Ella, what's wrong? Why didn't you talk?" Connor asked, sounding relieved yet angry at the same time.

"Oh, sorry, I dropped the phone and I thought I'd broken it." I lied, hoping he would buy it. He did.

"Oh, ok." He paused as if thinking of what to say, "Ella, I have bad news and please don't hate me for telling you it." My heart leapt to my throat at those words. In my mind I knew what was coming, but my heart just wasn't ready for the blow.

"Jethro's missing." Connor said slowly, "We got chased by some strange thing in the jungle, he split up from us to lead them away. We haven't seen him since."

I felt the phone leave my hand as the blackness closed over me, my heart beating so hard that I felt like it was going to break through my chest and my eyes burning with tears until I could no longer see.

"Thank you for that information, Connor." I heard Francis say. Then I heard Connor shouting from the other end and then a click, then silence as I let my consciousness slip away.

There was an ominous buzzing sound in the blackness, sending shockwaves through me.

"Emma! Emma! Answer the damn phone!" I heard someone yell over the buzzing sound.

"I'm going, I'm going!" I heard another girl yell back. Suddenly the buzzing stopped. All I could hear was this Emma talking.

"Yes, Francis." She said, and then she paused. _She must be on a phone_, I thought distractedly, already knowing that fact. "Yes she is comfortable."

I suddenly felt the soft, satin material below me. "No I won't let anything happen, she's safe with me for now."

_There's something you're forgetting, Ella_, I told myself, my brain rummaging through all the files trying to find the correct one. The sound of the door clicking shut distracted me from my thoughts. I was alone; I knew I was. I opened my eyes and gazed around the vast expanse of bedroom in front of me. The walls were a white marble, the bedroom furniture were all painted snow white and the satin bedspread below me an icy blue. _Do these people have a fetish for satin or something?_ I thought as I swung my legs round and hopped out of bed, realising at that very moment, I was naked.

After familiarising myself with the room and after I had found something to wear in one of the wardrobes I sat on the bed and stared at the door. Jethro. The thought occurred instantly. He was gone. Supposedly dead. I felt the twinge of pain, and then it started to grow. I clutched my knees to my chest, trying to make the pain stop but to no avail. I sobbed, pressing my face against my knees. "Why?" I breathed, "Why him?" I felt in it in my heart. I knew he was dead. I let out a cry and sunk onto the floor. My mind was no longer all there. Life seemed empty now. I ran into the bathroom joining my room looking through the drawers and cupboards. There was nothing. I ran back into the bedroom, desperate now. I found a belt in the bottom drawer in the wardrobe. I ran to the window I made a hoop with the belt. Stood up on the chair, put the belt around my neck and tied the other end to the curtain rail. "I love you Jethro. I'll be with you soon." I whispered. The door to the room burst open and I jumped from the chair.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 7

A couple of weeks had passed since I had broken up with Aiden. Jessica and Aiden were together now, I knew Aiden was doing it only for show and had no feelings for Jessica at all. Jethro had been avoiding me. He had missed school all of the last week. He even missed the end of year party. I hadn't seen Francis or Tyrone since prom night and things were going quite well. School had officially ended for summer break. I sat in my room that night. Not able to sleep or do anything else. I sat thinking of Jethro, how I wished I could be with him; but how it was impossible. He hated me, he avoided me. At Aiden's house on Prom night electricity had flowed between us, the look on his face that showed he felt it too. He's quickly moved away and when I told him I loved him, he'd put his head in his hands and then left quickly. I hated myself. I didn't care if he was a vampire, I was willing to take a risk. I'd taken a six-year risk by dating a werewolf in Washington and yet here I was today. I knock at my window interrupted my train of thought. Without thinking I stood up and strode over to the window. Jethro was on the other side of the glass, his breathtaking beauty still startled me. I opened the window and he climbed in.

"Ella, we need to talk." He said, walking straight past me and sitting on my bed. It took me a minute to regain control of my legs. I slowly walked over and joined him on the bed.

"Ella…" He began, but seemed to struggle to continue; there was a long awkward silence between us. Then he sighed and stared out of the window.

"Jethro?" I asked hesitantly, scared he was going to turn on me in an instant. I reached out a hand hesitantly to touch his shoulder comfortingly. But he quickly turned and his hand flew up and caught hold of my arm, his eyes were dark, the aquamarine blue that had shimmered in the light last time I saw them was gone. His eyes were as black as midnight again. He stared into my eyes, the anger in his eyes slowly drained, only to be replaced by confusion. The Electric current started up again, his bare flesh touching mine. His hand was ice cold against warm skin of my arm.

"I can't hide my feelings for you any longer." He whispered, looking down as if ashamed of himself. "I tried to keep you away, to keep you safe and hope that you'd forget about me." He sighed again, "but it didn't work, it made you unhappy that I was pushing you away and I couldn't stand to see you upset any longer. Seeing you upset made me unhappy. I know it would be best for me to keep away, but I can't." He struggled to say the last three words. And he looked at me through his thick, dark lashes and judged my reaction. I was stunned. He had feelings for _me_? That incarnation of pure beauty had feeling for _me_?

"Yes, I do have feelings for you." He confirmed. He'd read my mind – again. "I have very strong feelings for you." I felt my breath catch suddenly in my throat as the words sunk in deeper. I tried to exhale but my lungs wouldn't allow me to. He cared about me. I still couldn't believe it.

"Breath, Ella!" Jethro said urgently, taking hold of my shoulders and shaking me. "Breathe!"

I managed to exhale and struggled to breathe normally again. He rubbed my back gently to calm me; his cold touch was soothing. I eventually managed to breathe properly.

He took my hand is his, the electricity between us started up again.

"I love you, Ella." He whispered, "I love you and I never want to leave you again." He caressed his free hand against my cheek.

"I love you too." I whispered back, nearly in tears. I was scared that any minute I would wake up and this would have all been a dream.

"It's not a dream, Ella," he promised, he looked at me. "I'm here and I really do love you."

We stared into each other's eyes for a long moment, the electricity still flowing between us. I was suddenly aware that we were moving closer to each other. Our lips were almost touching when he pulled away. The electricity disappeared.

"Ella, for this to work we're going to have to have a few rules," He sighed and looked down, "I don't know how well I can control myself yet, and you smell pretty damn good, so we are going to have to limit down physical contact."

I nodded, it was a bit of a disappointment, but at least I had Jethro and he loved me. I think I'd be able to cope.

"Are you sleepy?" he asked, glancing at the time. It was almost 1:00am.

"A little." I admitted.

"Do you want me to watch over you tonight?" He asked, smirking slightly. He knew my answer before I could say it.

"Get in the bed then." He said, standing up. I crawled into the bed and pulled the covers over me. He sat on the end of my bed watching me.

"Aren't you tired?" I asked concerned that I was being rude and not offering to let him sleep in my bed or in my sleeping bag. To my surprise he laughed.

"I don't sleep." He smiled.

I felt rather stupid, but I couldn't have known that. I was still having visions of him rising out of a coffin every night.

It was hard to fall asleep knowing that he was staring at me, but I eventually did.

The next morning I awoke early. I quickly glanced around the room. He'd gone. Or maybe it had just been a dream. I started to question my sanity as I got dressed and went downstairs. Dad had already left for work at the garage. I made a simply breakfast of cereal and sat down at the table, still wondering if I'd dreamed the whole thing up. I washed up quickly after I'd finished and went to watch TV. I flicked idly through the channels, nothing really grabbing my interest. My thoughts were elsewhere. A knock at the door sent me spiralling back to reality. I walked slowly to the door and opened it. Two gleaming amber eyes stared back down at me.

"Hi, Ellie!" Courtney almost screamed, hugging my tightly.

"Hey – Court – ney," I gasped, since when had she been so strong? I couldn't breathe. She let go when she realised.

"Sorry," she smiled apologetically and then walked past me and sat on the living room couch. Elizabeth followed her closely. Elizabeth's eyes were the strange mesmerising amber colour of Courtney's. She stalked silently behind Courtney, looking very fragile, like the slightest touch could shatter her.

"New contacts?" I asked. She just looked at me then looked away again. Poor Lizzie, I thought. What has Courtney done to you?

I shut the door quietly and followed them into the living room. As soon as I sat down, Courtney burst into conversation, telling my about her new job at a clothes store called Classy Lass. I didn't really pay much attention, just nodded occasionally to make it look like I was listening. There was another knock at the door, I was annoyed that I was going to have a full house if this kept going but grateful that I could get away from Courtney's continuous babbling.

I got up quickly, and walked - almost ran - to the door. I swung the door open. I gasped, and stepped backwards almost falling over Courtney's coat – which she had dropped on the floor on her entrance.

"Hi Ella." Jethro smiled, kissing my lightly on the forehead. His blue eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. I noticed what he was wearing today. A light blue sweater that clung to his body, showing off his well-muscled chest, a pair of light denim jeans and black converse. It made a change from his gothic clothing. Blue suited him very well, but no colour blue in the world could match the beautiful colour of his eyes. I realised he was waiting and I was staring into his eyes.

"Oh, hi. Come in." I whispered shyly. A little embarrassed. He walked in but took my hand in his; I shut the door and let him lead me to the living room. His skin was cold but soft on mine. Courtney's eyes widened with shock when he entered the room holding hands with me. Elizabeth smiled slightly but hid it from Courtney. Jethro sat on the floor facing Courtney and Elizabeth but he was a reasonable distance away. I sat down next to him. Courtney was still staring, but most of the shock was gone and was replaced by anger. The only boy in the school, who didn't want her, wanted me. I felt myself blush as the thought of Jethro being mine resurfaced. I felt something cold around my waist; I looked down to see that Jethro had put his arm around me. He was smirking slightly and taking little glances towards Courtney. He was rubbing it in.

"So, Ella-" Courtney began, trying her hardest to control her voice. "You never told us you had a boyfriend. How long have you and Jethro been together?" She didn't want to know, she was just trying to act polite around Jethro.

"Oh, we're not-" Jethro cut me off mid-sentence.

"Only about a day." Jethro said calmly. _Let me handle this_, Jethro's voice said in my mind. _Sorry, don't you want me as a boyfriend? _

"Yes!" I blurted out. I'd forgotten that Jethro hadn't really said it out loud. Jethro a smug smile crept across Jethro's face and then quickly disappeared. Courtney and Elizabeth were staring at me.

"Yes what?" Elizabeth asked.

My mind raced, trying to find an excuse. My heartbeat sped up and I could hear it pounding in my ears and I was pretty sure Jethro could hear it too with his ultra-sensitive hearing.

"I just remembered that-" I paused to think of a good excuse. Courtney and Elizabeth were getting impatient. _You're going on holiday next week_, Jethro said in my mind. "I'm going on holiday next week." I repeated. Elizabeth didn't seem convinced but Courtney cheered up to the thought of me going away for a while.

"Oh, cool. Where are you going?" She asked, a little too enthusiastically. I threw a worried glance at Jethro but he kept his eyes on the TV, pretending to watch it. _You're going camping in the mountains_, Jethro's voice said in my mind.

"I'm going camping in the mountains, up north." I added the last bit, to show I was improvising. I saw Jethro smile slightly.

"Aren't there like, bears and lions and stuff up there?" Courtney asked, not seeming to care at all.

"Only a few." Jethro answered before I could react. "But she'll be safe with me."

"I don't want anything to happen to you." I know it was meant for Jethro but she looked at me as she said it. Jethro shook his head as if disapproving something.

"We'll be fine." Was all Jethro said and then turned his full attention to the TV. I was horrified. Lions? Bears? Camping! I hated camping, ever since I was little and a hungry bear had rummaged in our tents – while we were asleep! I had been scared of camping ever since.

Courtney and Elizabeth left a short time later. I turned to Jethro. "Camping!" I shouted. "You want _me_ to go camping!" I was shaking my head, trying to shake away the thought. I realised that I was pacing and stopped quickly. Jethro was up and in front of me in an instant. His cool breath blowing against my face as he looked down at me. His arms were around my waist.

"I thought it would be fun." He smiled an irresistible smile. My panic and anger melted away instantly and I wrapped my arms around his neck. "You and me, alone together for a couple of days." He kissed my forehead lightly again, his lips cold and soft on my warm forehead. Alone together, I repeated in my own mind. Excitement started to bubble up inside me.

"I guess I could give it a try." I whispered. The irresistible smile reappeared and my heart melted and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"I love you." He whispered. Freeing one hand from my waist to stroke my hair.

"I love you too." I whispered back, smiling and closing my eyes to enjoy the moment. I felt him relax as he rested his head against my hair. "Isn't this hard for you?" I asked.

"Hmm?" He sighed, still very relaxed.

"To be so close to me?"

"Incredibly hard." He said, but didn't move.

"Then why do you?" I asked, feeling guilty for causing him so much strain.

"Because I love you. And I want to be close to you, no matter what it takes." He lifted his head and smiled down at me and then kissed my forehead lightly again. Every kiss sent shockwaves through my body.

"And why can't I kiss you properly?" I asked, realising that I'd never kissed him and our lips had never met.

"Pace yourself, Ella." He smiled, but I was not amused. "Don't test my self-control yet." He smiled again but his eyes were serious.

"Self control as a boy or as a vampire?" I smirked. He laughed.

"Both." He kissed my forehead again. "I still have to decide which is more tempting." He smirked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, starting to panic, but managing to hide it.

"I don't know which is more tempting, your blood or your body." He stroked my hair again. I laughed with relief.

"Which is winning at the moment?"

"It's equal." He glanced at the clock. "I think I'd better go."

"Will you come back tonight?" I asked, hoping, pleading he would.

"Not tonight, I have a lot of plans to make. I won't be able to come round for the rest of the week. Sorry." There was a touch of pain in his eyes as he said it. This was going to be a long week then, I was really attached to Jethro. I hugged him tightly.

"Look after yourself while I'm away." He kissed my cheek, but his lips lingered there longer than normal.

"Where are you going?" I asked, almost in a whisper.

"Over to Tasmania. We need more supplies." He sighed. His arms loosened and finally let go of me. "Stay safe while I'm gone." Then he was gone. Like he had disappeared into thin air.

I sighed and glanced at the clock too, it was past eleven.

I sat on my bed staring at the ceiling, thinking of Jethro. Imagining us together in the mountains together. Somehow it seemed appealing because of Jethro. If it had been anyone else I wouldn't have gone. But now I was excited about going. I dreamed that night of Jethro.

The next day was slow and uneventful; Adrian was home. He'd said I was too old to call him dad now. I just had to call him Adrian. As I got ready for bed I heard a tap at me window. Jethro I thought swinging around and running to the window. I flung the curtains open and froze. Amber eyes stared at me from the other side of the glass. I opened the window and Connor climbed in.

"I missed you." He whispered, hugging me tightly.

"I missed you too." I whispered as the tears fell from my eyes. I wasn't sure if I was crying because I was happy to see him, or crying because this was probably a dream. His body was warm against mine as I pressed my face against his chest. He picked me up with ease, so my feet dangled and my face was just above his head. I looked down at him.

"How did you get here?" I asked, tears still welling up in my eyes. He was really here. His warm breath; his extremely high temperature, his long curly brown hair, his blazing amber eyes. My big werewolf boy, how I'd missed him.

"I have my ways." He smirked and laid me down on the bed and crawled on top of me. His body was heavy but bearable, his face was just above mine and he stared straight down at me.

His warmth breath on my face.

"No offence Ella, but you stink." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "And it isn't a familiar smell. What have you been doing? Rolling in garbage."

I rolled my eyes, same old Connor. "Maybe you should go if I smell so bad." I said through my teeth.

"Nope. I think I'll stay a bit. I still love you even if you smell." He grinned, his cute toothy grin. His head moved closer to mine, expecting a kiss. Why shouldn't I let him do this? Why was this wrong? The smell. Connor was a werewolf, something smelled horrible to werewolves. Vampires. _Jethro!_ My thoughts screamed, _Jethro is your boyfriend now! Don't hurt him!_ I quickly freed my arms and held Connor back. He looked disappointed.

"What about Emily?" I whispered, not wanting to confess just yet. Connor sighed, got off of me and sat on the edge of the bed. I sat up too.

"I love her, Ella. I love her so much." The pain in his eyes as he said it was nearly unbearable, "But I love you too, more than anything. But I can't choose between you." He dropped his head into his hands.

"Connor-" I hesitated, I was going to have to tell him now. Tell him about Jethro, but not that he was a vampire. Connor would have a fit if he found out that part. "I took your advise and I found someone. Here. In Crystal Waters."

"Oh." He said, "I guess that's good. What's he like?" Connor looked down, he didn't want to hear it really.

"He's cool." I said, to save Connor the pain.

"Well I guess I can still love you." Connor said, "but we'll just be friends." I smiled at him, I was glad he'd taken it all so well.

"So whats this guys name?" Connor asked, raising an eyebrow curiously, "Who's the lucky guy who took my girl away from me?" He smirked but there was a touch of anger in his eyes.

"He's called Jethro." I said calmly, not showing any emotion at all.

"So when do I get to meet this Jethro?" there was a touch of menace in his smile now. The breath caught in my throat. Bad idea. They could never meet; they'd smell each other instantly. They were natural enemies and I loved them both. This wasn't going to turn out well.

"Soon." I lied. I tried to lighten the mood a bit. "Try not to kill him straight away, please."

"I'll try." He smirked. There was an awkward silence as we both thought of something to say. A few questions were cycling around my mind, I asked the first one that I could focus on.

"Why did you come here?" I asked.

"I followed Francis." He grinned at me. "I promised I'd never let him hurt you and I intend to keep that promise. And I wanted to see you." He added the last bit quickly as if not to hurt my feelings. I yawned against my own will. Connor smiled. "Time for bed."

"I'm not tired," I protested, folding my arms across my chest in a childish pout. I was not going to miss a minute with Connor now, not after our long separation.

"Well I am." He smiled, before I knew it I was under the covers and he was lying next to me. His body was warm against my back. He put his arm around me and pressed my body back against his.

"Goodnight." He said, kissing the back of my head.

"Goodnight." I replied stroking his arm and then settling back into his warm embrace. I felt consciousness slip away quickly and I soon fell asleep. Connor slept next to me for the next few nights.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The dagger dropped to the floor with a clinking of the silver. I watched as my blood oozed out of the gash on my neck. I hadn't hit the artery that would have killed me instantly. I wanted to make myself suffer for my crimes. I could feel the blood running down my neck, soaking my top, some of it drying on my skin. I picked up the dagger again and positioned it on my wrist. _Please don't do this to yourself! Stop! Please!_ His voice was so beautiful. I would be with him soon, I assured myself of that much. Joining him in death, not that I deserved him. I was the cause of his death. Me. The one who he had thought he'd loved.

My vision was starting to go blurry and I was feeling light headed. I was finding it hard to breathe and the pain in my neck was growing into agony. I looked down at the blade positioned over my wrist. Closed my eyes and took a deep shaky breath in, choking in the process. _NO_! Before I realised what was happening, the dagger was knocked out of my hand and thrown across the room. I was moved very swiftly but gently until I stared up into two beautiful pools of blue. I was laying across his lap, where he was kneeling on the floor. His arms supporting my weight and holding me so I was almost sat upright. I saw a tear leave his eye. "Ella, how could you do this to yourself?" He swept a piece of hair back behind my ear with one hand, using his knee to support my in that hands absence. I saw the tears streaming down his cheeks now.

"Jethro – " I murmured, it hurt to talk now. I took another deep shaky breath in, choking on this one also.

"How could you do this to yourself! Your family! Your friends!…Me!" He sobbed.

"I – thought you were – " I couldn't say the last word, and instead let out a little sob of my own.

He took off his jacket, ripped off a sleeve, folded it over and pressed it to the gash on my neck.

"Even if I was, what about your friends what would they think? Your family? Your father? He needs you as well."

"I can't live – without – you!" I gasped. It was so hard to breathe, but I was hanging on, every moment with him was precious before he disappeared into thin air. This may be a hallucination but it's that closest thing I had to the real him.

"I aren't a hallucination, Ella" he looked at me solemnly as another tear left his eye. "I am really here." I looked at him, there was no sign he was lying. I slowly reached my hand out and put it against his cheek, his skin was cold, but soft. This was no hallucination. I screamed in my head. He was back now and I was dying.

"I won't let you die, Ella." He whispered. I heard the door open downstairs. Connor and Emily were home. There were a few minutes of silence as Jethro just stared at me and I stared at the ceiling, trying to work out what was happening. Then I heard a rush of movement downstairs. "Ella!" Connor shouted as he ran upstairs. _They must have found my note_, I thought distractedly. I felt so tired. "She's up here!" Jethro called to them, then he turned back to me and then whispered, "No! You mustn't go to sleep!" I stared at him for a long minute.

_You can read my mind again_? I thought, not wanting to speak now for the pain.

_Yes_, the answer came back clearly. I tried to smile but the pain made it impossible. So tired! I felt my eyelids closing against my will.

"No please, Ella! You must stay awake! Hang on, for me," He said, getting up and carrying me to the bed. _Anything for you_, I thought to him, my neck was in agony now. My vision was blurry, I couldn't see him anymore.

"Stay with me, come on now." He laid me down on the bed and sat next to me and stroked the back of my hand with one hand whilst holding a fresh sleeve to my neck with the other. Connor burst into the room closely followed by Emily. They froze when they saw Jethro.

"You're alive?" Connor muttered, his gaze switching between Jethro and me.

"Yes, but Ella won't be much longer if you don't help me." Jethro replied, lifting the bloodstained sleeve up by his expression I guess it was bad. That got Connor into motion. He darted forward, "What can I do to help?" he asked, looking me over.

"Connor I need you to go find a first aid kit. Emily I need you to go see if you can get an ambulance up here." Both of them nodded and ran off to do their assigned job. "Ella, I need you to hang on and not go to sleep."

I tried to smile but it turned into a grimace as pain shot up through my neck to my jaw. My vision was really blurry now. I couldn't see Jethro's face clearly anymore.

"Jethro –" It hurt so much to talk, I took slow breaths, "I can't – breathe." Breathing hurt so much.

"Just hold on, sweetheart. Help will be here soon." He whispered, I heard his voice break, he was crying again.

"I can't," I moaned, a rip of agony tearing through my neck, "Make it st–op Jethro, it hurts – so – much." I was begging now. I couldn't wait for help any longer. My body felt weak and it ached everywhere, I couldn't move any part of me. Which scared me, driving the panic higher. I was breathing heavily, but it hurt so much. Every breath causing extreme agony.

"Phone lines are down." I heard a breathless Emily say.

"I got one." Connor said. I heard his footsteps on the wooden floorboards. There was a moment's silence then I heard some rustling.

"Nothing in here can help!" Jethro said; I felt his gaze on me.

"It's too late for her to go to a hospital, Jethro." I heard Emily whisper.

I felt myself drifting off to sleep against my own will. Their voices were fading out as the blackness closed over. I only caught parts of the conversation.

"You have to – "

"I can't – "

"She'll die if you don't!"

In that silence is when I stopped hearing what was happening. I wanted to listen. I wanted to know what they were talking about. I felt a sharp pain in my neck at the other side from the gash, the pain slowly faded only to leave a slight tingling in that side of my neck. I then felt something cold trickle down my throat. Though it was cold it still burnt my skin. Then a pain in my chest started. With that pain I let the last of the blackness close over so I could no longer feel anything.

"How's she doing?"

"I'm not sure."

"Has she moved at all?"

"No."

"Do you think she's –?"

"I don't know."

The conversation cut off and I could feel their gazes boring a hole into my face. I felt a lot better than I had done. How long had I been out now? It had to have been at least a day. I felt strange. I felt all tingly and light. I could smell Jethro, his sweet scent hung in the air on my left. Just next to him I could smell Connor, his scent was horrible compared to Jethro's and I couldn't quite figure out why, I'd never noticed that smell before. I could hear Connor's heartbeat, he was calm, his heartbeat steady. I listened to both of their breathing. Then got distracted when I heard a scuttling. There was a fly on the window. I could hear it walking up the glass.

Connor moved slowly, then I heard the door creak and then click into place. Jethro and me were the only ones in the room. _Jethro_, I thought to him. I heard the chair squeak on the floor as he swiftly got up and came to my side. His hand brushed against my cheek. There was something weird about his touch, something not quite right.

_Oh thank god, I thought I'd lost you_, his voice came into my mind, strong with emotion. _How are you feeling? Can you speak? _

"I'm fine." I said, slowly opening my eyes. My voice sounded beautiful. I was shocked when I opened my eyes fully. Everything was so clear. I could see every little detail in everything around me. I looked at Jethro; his face was just as beautiful as ever. He smiled at me, a smile that warmed my heart. He pressed his lips to mine.

"Your skin is warm!" I blurted out in spite of myself. He looked at me. Pain flickered in his eyes.

"There's something I have to tell you." He whispered.

He didn't seem very happy about what he wanted to tell me, which made me feel very nervous. It was going to be bad news, very bad news.

"Your one of us, Ella." He looked away, ashamed, "It's the only way I could save you, I'm so sorry."

I gawked at him. That was it? That was the bad news? I threw my arms around him.

"Oh, Jethro." I sighed, "This is what I've wanted since I met you, I've wanted to be with you forever. Now I can."

His tense shoulders relaxed and his arms formed a tight circle around me. His lips claimed mine instantly. He pulled me tighter against his chest. Our lips moving together, he effortlessly lifted me from the table – not once breaking the kiss – and carried me to his room.

I lay next to Jethro with my head resting on his chest, playing mindlessly with a strand of his hair. His arm was around me, hugging me to him. His beautiful aquamarine eyes were swimming with satisfaction. I sighed, breathing in his scent, it smelt so good with my heightened senses.

"I love you." I whispered.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"No! No! No!" I shrieked, looking down at the swell of my stomach. "How can this have happened!" I ran my hands over the bulge sticking out from between my hips. "I'm too young to be pregnant!" I wailed. Trixie stood at the foot of my bed, watching with a hopeless expression, "Jethro will be home soon." She assured me, moving quickly to my side and patting my shoulder, " I can't help you, I'm sorry." She hugged me. It didn't comfort me in the slightest. I needed Jethro. As soon as he was here and I was in his arms all my worries would go away. "he'll only be about another hour."

Another hour! I started crying. I needed him now.

Trixie started panicking, I was crying uncontrollably by this point. Not even I could stop myself. "Connor!" Trixie called, distressed. He was at the door in just a few short seconds. The last person I wanted to see right now.

"What wrong? Why is she crying?" he asked, moving swiftly to my side and leaning over trying to see my face; which I hid behind my hair. _Might as well get it over with now_, I thought, _it'll be easier if he finds out now_. I sat back, exposing my stomach to him. I watched how his eyes widened in horror as he took in what he saw.

"Your pregnant!" he exploded. "Your pregnant with a little demon child!" I was shocked. He'd just called my child a demon.

"What do you mean demon child!" I shrieked at him. He seemed stunned at me response but quickly recovered.

"Yes demon child! Another little bloodsucker! A little murderer!"

"Don't call him that!"

Connor stopped and just stood staring at me, "Did you just defend it?"

I was just as stunned as he was, I had defended my baby – if it was a baby at all. "Yes – yes I did."

Without another word Connor swept me off the bed and carried me out the door and down the stairs to Tabitha's room.

"Hey, let go of me!" I protested. He set me gently on the black leather couch in the corner of Tabitha's room. The room was filled with equipment, medical and scientific. The walls were filled with band posters. Tabitha sat in front of a desk in the far corner, typing something into her computer.

Connor darted over, whispered something I couldn't quite catch even with my new hearing and left the room. Slowly Tabitha got up and turned around to face me. I looked at her blank expression, puzzled as to what was wrong. I looked at her eyes; they'd gone pure white. The pupil and iris were missing. I took a breath in to ask what was wrong but felt myself go limp and I passed out.

"Don't start with me mongrel!"

"She's too young to be pregnant, no matter what you say!"

"She isn't yours anymore! Stop trying to control everything!"

"I'm just looking out for her!"

"So am I!"

"I'm doing a damn better job than you are! Now move!"

I heard a hiss and a sudden growling.

"Don't start with me parasite!"

"You touch her…"

"And you'll what! Hiss at me again?" Sarcasm was strong in his voice. There was a loud thud and a few milliseconds later, the sound of smashing glass.

"What the hell you do that for?"

"Don't touch Ella, Connor. I'm warning you."

I slowly opened my eyes, realising these voices weren't just in my head. This was real. Connor and Jethro were fighting. I sat up, swung my legs around and lowered myself off the table.

There was a louder bang this time.

"Boys stop it!" I heard Trixie shout.

"I won't let her be harmed by this little monster!" I heard Connor shout, obviously ignoring Trixie.

"It isn't a monster and it isn't your choice whether she keeps the baby or not. It's hers!"

I walked to the door and peered down the hallway. There was a slamming sound and a snarling sound that echoed down the hallway.

"I'd rather she lived. Rather than let your demon kid kill her! Didn't it occur to you that she'd get pregnant, or were you too caught up in your own selfish needs!" Connor was really angry now.

"Connor please stop!" I distressed Emily shouted.

"The child is not a demon!"

I entered the living and was shocked at what was actually happening. I glass fruit bowl had fallen to the floor and smashed. There were big indentations in the walls in three different parts of the room and the coffee table was totally destroyed. Trixie and Emily stood on the stairs watching the action with horrified expressions; Tabitha sat alone in her corner listening to her music. Last of all I noticed Connor and Jethro. Jethro was up against the wall, his feet not even touching the floor, Connor had him pinned up by the throat both of them snarling, growling and glaring at each other.

"You're going to wake Ella up!" Trixie watched the boys, but they didn't even seem to notice her presence. I realised that no one had noticed I'd entered.

"Why did you even have to do it!" Connor continued, "You haven't even known her that long!"

"I've known her long enough," Jethro managed choked out.

"Stop before you wake Ella!" Emily attempted to bring peace to the argument. I stared at Jethro. He was in pain. Connor was hurting him. I wanted to go over and help him but I couldn't gather enough strength to move my legs.

"Too late." Trixie said, flitting over to me and hugging me. "Oh Ella, are you ok?"

"I'm fine." I turned away from Trixie to focus on the boys who were still fighting. "Why are you fighting?" I asked angrily. They ignored me.

"You've caused nothing but trouble for Ella!" Connor continued. Pain flickered strongly in Jethro's eyes but was quickly gone and replaced by the calm, emotionless mask.

"She's been kidnapped twice, she's a vampire, she's pregnant with a vicious little vampire baby; hell, she's even tried to commit suicide because of you!"

Jethro winced at the memory.

"Ella is fine. The baby is not vicious and I am quite happy to be a father." Jethro said coolly. I smiled, Jethro was happy to be a father. A little baby Jethro, how beautiful the child would be.

"Well she obviously isn't happy to be a mother! That baby will kill her! That's what vampires do; they drain the life of those around them!" Connor shouted right in Jethro's face.

"Enough." The voice was quiet and beautiful but spoke with authority. Everything went silent. Tabitha stood up in the corner; it was her who had spoke. She walked forward to Jethro and Connor and gently pushed them apart.

"Enough of this nonsense I can't hear my music." She said, her face remaining expressionless, "The results show that the child is a werewolf, not a vampire. The DNA results haven't come up yet though. But the child cannot be Jethro's if it is of the lycan species, now enough fighting." And without another word she left the room. Connor and Jethro stared at each other for a long moment. Emily was staring at Connor with a look of anguish on her face. Trixie was gob-smacked, her gaze darted between Connor and me. Jethro's calm mask had disintegrated, white rage flashed in Jethro's eyes for a split second as Connor started to smirk. The effect sending Connor stumbling backwards out of the way just as Jethro launched himself at him.

"Jethro!" I practically screamed, darting forward. Jethro had knocked Connor to the floor and was punching at his face. Without thinking I grabbed Jethro and yanked him off of Connor with all my might. I did it, my new vampire strength was coming in handy. I knelt down beside Connor and checked to see if Jethro had done any fatal damage. There were bruises already developing but nothing too serious. Connor just stared at my stomach the whole time. I didn't see how this could have happened, Connor and me hadn't been intimate since before I moved to Crystal Springs, it couldn't possibly be his child. I would figure this one out later, right now I had to check Connor and Jethro were ok. After deciding Connor would be fine, I turned around to find Jethro getting to his feet and brushing himself off. Then his gaze met mine with a look that knotted my stomach so tight I could have hurled. He shook his head and walked away. Oh dear, I thought, _Jethro! Jethro!_ I shouted into his mind, but no response came back. _Jethro_! I tried again following him into the dark hallway. I couldn't see him anymore but I could still feel his presence. I wandered through the hallway, following his scent. _Oh Jethro, please forgive me, I love you_, I pleaded, _I don't know how this happened but – _his reply cut me off mid thought._ I do_, it was simply just the two words. It confused me greatly. _What do you mean, you do?_ I waited in the middle of the hallway, I could see perfectly well in the dark but I could no longer see Jethro. Then suddenly something threw me back against the wall, but it didn't hurt. I was pinned there, Jethro was in front of me, face to face now.

"You lied to me, Ella." He said. I watched him closely. His eyes were welling up in tears.

"Lied to you about what?"

"About him!" he roared, "You told me you had no feelings for him. You told me it was over between you two! This must have only happened recently, Ella. Don't take me for a fool!"

I shook my head dismay, "No – Jethro – You don't understand! It isn't like that!" I could feel the burn of tears in my eyes now.

"Then how did this happen!" He gestured to my pregnant stomach.

"I – I don't know."

He shook his head.

"Jethro, please you've got to believe me!"

"I thought you loved me, Ella. I really thought you did." A tear fell from his eye.

"I do love you! Please you have to believe me!" I sobbed, tears flowing freely. "Look into my memories! I promise you I don't know how this happened!"

I felt his presence in my mind, but it disappeared quickly and he turned his head away, another tear rolled down his cheek. I lifted my hand to wipe it away. I didn't want him to cry. He caught my hand before it reached his face. He looked back at me with anguished eyes, only to close his eyes and turn away from me again.

"After all this time, Ella." He looked back at me, tears streaking his cheeks. My own eyes going blurry with tears. He didn't believe me! How could he not believe me! I let out a few sobs I couldn't hold back any longer. "After all this time. I thought you were the one." He let go of my hand and gave it a look as if it were diseased. Then his eyes met mine, they were as black as night, the beautiful aquamarine gone as if swallowed up by the night. "But I was wrong." Then he was gone, too quickly for even my new vision to follow.

"Jethro!" I wailed, sinking to the floor. I didn't want to stop crying. He'd left me. Then had to be a nightmare. I had to wake up. "Jethro!" I was in agony, my heart felt as if it had been ripped in two. I heard Trixie and the others come in. They started fussing over me. But to me they weren't really there. Nothing was, only the pain. I loved him so much. Why didn't he believe me? He was gone. He wasn't coming back, not now, not ever. I cried until my eyes were burning and my throat was sore. I was carried to bed and sat withal night. I didn't care who was watching, I didn't care about anything.

"Quickly get up!" I was hurried out of bed. The world was spinning around me. I hadn't slept, because vampires couldn't. But I was quite happy in my daydreams where Jethro was with me. My stomach had grown a considerable amount during the night. It only took me two seconds of being out of bed and out of my daydreams to realise Jethro wasn't there. To remember the night before. To think about him, what he'd said. How it had pierced my heart like a thousand daggers. I held back the tears as we descended the stairs.

Everyone was talking worriedly to each other. From the conversations I could hear I managed to make out that Francis was planning an attack to come and kill me. _Let him_, I thought, sitting down onto the couch.

Sebastian explained what Trixie had seen. Apparently, Francis had all he needed and all that was left was to dispose of me.

"Let him," I said aloud, not caring about the reactions I got. I waited until Sebastian had calmed everyone down before I continued. "Well he wants me, so might as well give him what he wants rather than you all getting injured sticking up for me."

"I'm sorry but we cannot allow you to do that." Sebastian replied.

"Why not?"

"Because you are family now."

"But Jethro – "

"Jethro left for his own reasons. No matter what you are our family now and we must look out for one another. So I'm sorry Helena but I just cannot allow you to sacrifice yourself."

"Yeah, we'll fight with ya." Stefan put in, giving me a reassuring smile and nod. "We ain't scared of no big slobbering mongrels."

Connor cleared his throat loudly. It was only then I noticed Emily and Connor – the usually inseparable pair – were stood away from each other, very far away from each other. Emily kept looking at me, with something like envy or maybe even anger echoing deep in her gaze.

"No offence to you of course, Connor" Stefan smirked. Connor glanced at me, then to my stomach then looked away.

"We're with you 'til the end." Ivy agreed, laying a gentle kiss on Stefan's forehead to which he replied by nuzzling her neck. I frowned. This isn't right, I thought. There's no point defending someone who doesn't want to live anymore. Just then I felt a little kick. I rubbed my stomach gently. This was it, my last reason for living. My baby, the only person I had left to love. I would protect him no matter what; and the only way to make sure he'd be safe would be to destroy Francis. I looked up from my stomach, realising the whole room was silent and everyone was looking at me with worried expression.

"Ok." I sighed. Sebastian smiled. Everyone cheered. A very unexpected reaction.

"Yes finally, we can get rid of this dog once and for all! Dibs on the leader!" Stefan cheered.

Connor joined me at my side and took my hand. His hand was so warm against mine now. "I'm with you no matter what." He whispered. Then he gently placed his hand on my stomach. I smiled up at him. At least I wasn't alone. At least I still had my friends and new family. And it was finally time to get rid of Francis once and for all…


End file.
